Alternate Realities
by SilverKit'sFire
Summary: i started writing this years ago for fun and then it took over and turned into a fic of epic proportions. now i'm thinking  major?  editing overhaul, canon til book6, then break and become Harry/Draco. please bear w/me here, it's going to be V long...
1. Prologue

okay, so i decided this needed a prologue.... i hope it will save me some explaining later... and, yes, i really have written this in actual mythology style. don't judge me!

no disclaimer necessary here; this part's all mine

* * *

Creation

Cosmos

In the beginning there was. But perhaps it is not so much what there was as what there was not. There were no worlds, no stars, no light or time, or even space. There simply was. And what was, was Thought, for that is all that can exist without space. And it was not so much a single thought, but rather the essence of Thought itself. But Thought can never last long in nothingness without getting bored and creating something new to consider. And so Thought, getting bored, imagined a place, and because it was the essence of Thought, a place there was. But it could not be seen and so Thought gave it lights; many, many lights in many, many places within the place. So the place became the Universe, the great Cosmos. And the lights were the stars. And Thought became the Creator.

Now the Creator is not really a person as we understand the word, but rather just an entity, a mind in existence outside what we can truly comprehend. Neither male nor female, animal or mineral, but rather all and still more. The Creator is in everything and holds part of everything that exists within itself as well as all things that have been and have yet to be; ageless, timeless. Yet for the sake of simplicity we will call the Creator after a female, for She gave birth to us all.

Now the Universe that had been created for a while was the Creator's experiment, and She played with the stars, shaping them to Her liking, fashioning the clusters we know as Galaxies. And this amused Her for a time, watching the dance of the beautiful things She had made. But She felt that her work was incomplete. And so She fashioned around some of the stars the planets. And because She was the essence of Thought, the planets were all different, though many had similarities. And this was better, but still She was not satisfied for all things were in Her control and there was nothing to occupy Her attention. And so She began to experiment yet again and She found that some planets held the potential for life.

Now life was a new thing and it took time to get it right, for, not being anything like the life She was trying to create, the Creator was not entirely sure what to make the life like. Now the tale of the creation of life is long in the telling and in truth there are many different tales, for each people has their own version. Yet life is, and all that is, is the Creator's doing. She made the first the water and the land. Then She made the plants, and next the animals. And she made each thing suited to where it grew or lived, but knowing that things might change She also gifted all life with the ability to change with the world, to adapt.

Now, recognizing the need for procreation, the Creator, in truth sexless Herself, gave all life a way to mate and make more life, though not all living things can be said to have a gender as it were. And so life flourished and the Creator was very well pleased with what she had made and for some time — for now that there was a need for the ability to mark the passage of change there was Time — She was content to sit back and rest as she watched Her new creations, and the antics of the animals pleased and amused Her.

But soon she became discontented, for though the animals lived and played as she had intended, they were not able to think as She did, and She was lonely and longed for a creature who would know Her as no other; who would have thoughts and wishes as She did and who would turn to Her for guidance. And so the Creator went back to worlds with life and, working with what was already there, She fashioned new races of beings. Most of these were similar to one another; humans or humanoids. And these pleased Her greatly, for they had many thoughts and did many things that other beings could not. And She gave to them the freedom of choice and taught them the use of tools and of fire, for while they were much cleverer than the other animals, they were very vulnerable, lacking both the built-in weapons of a predator and the natural speed and stamina of a prey animal and so needed all their greater wit to survive.

But it seemed to Her that it was unfair to gift only the human creatures with so much, especially as they now preyed on the other creatures with such skill. And so She gave to the animals a world all their own; a Homeworld where every species could live and flourish, a world untouched by humans. And to the animals that lived there, She gave them a greater wisdom than was had by other animals and so they were the Wise Beasts. And as time went on and the magical creatures were hunted more and more by the humans who sought after their power, those who could fled to the Homeworld, and it became their refuge, for the world was safeguarded from the human hunters for them by the Great Shifters, who are the guardians of Her great design.

And so life flourished and the Creator was much pleased and is content to watch us and help us and guide us as we find our way in this great cosmos She has fashioned for us, for we are all Her children and She is our great Mother.

Of Magic and Shifters

Now when the Creator made Her thought real and tangible, She did this not just with Her thought but with the Power that is the potential of being and with Belief. And because all things were made by Her with this Power and with Belief, the Power is in all things, and all things that can think can Believe. The two together are the base of Magic, for Magic at its simplest is merely the name given to the ability to believe a thing into being. The key to Magic is one must want it, and one must trust it to be enough for it to be. But because with Magic comes the ability to change the order of things so drastically, only a small portion of beings can truly touch the Magic. Nor is it an ability given to a particular species or people; but rather to the individual who is strong enough to wield it, though whether they do good or ill with it is their choice, for Magic, like any tool, is only as great or as terrible as the person behind it.

Now at first this was fine, and those who could touch the Magic found many uses for it. Some learned to see into the future and tell of what might be, others learned to heal wounds and treat the sick, still others used it to protect their people. But as time went on, the magic users learned more and more of what they could do and the Power began to show itself more strongly. Some of the magic users found that they could do more than the others; some were able to change their shape — to take on another creature's form, others found that they could use the Magic to travel great distances in hardly any time at all, and some could even travel through Time itself. These were the Shifters, so called because they could shift their forms and/or the Space-Time continuum around them.

Now when these greater Powers began to emerge, the Creator was troubled. It was not that She begrudged the people the abilities, but rather that those abilities gave the people another ability; the power to change things, to mess about with Her design. And so She decided to create a race of very powerful Shifters whose task it would be to safeguard Her creation from the meddling of the other, lesser Shifters.

Now, seeing how mostly only humans and humanoids were gifted with Magic and knowing how they tended to hunger after power, the Creator did not make Her new race of guardians from them. Instead She went to the Homeworld and there She took the lions, who are the kings among beasts, and formed from them a new people. They were also lions in original form but with all the powers of Shifting and other Magics as well. And to them She gave the task of keeping the order of things. To help them in this great undertaking the Creator gave to these new Great Shifters a greater understanding than any other creature in the workings of time and space and Magic and Her design for the Cosmos. And so the Order is kept.


	2. Chamber of Secrets1

disclaimer: yeah, you know the drill. HP and all of the characters originally from it do not belong to me.... i just get to play with them^_^

A/N: okay all, this is the first story i've ever posted and I'm afraid I'm rather unorthodox so please bear with me, b/c this could take some time to explain, especially since i've never seen a fic done in this format before.

okay, first thing you need to know: this is an OC fic. actually, there are several original characters in here, so if you absolutely can't stand OC's, stop reading now. for anyone who can get past that fact, the characters are fun-loving and a bit crazy, but promise to try their utmost not to be Mary Sue's.

the other thing you need to know: this is a weird format. it is meant to be written directly into the books. it will probably seem a bit pointless for a while, but that will change if you stick with it. it's actually part of a larger story, but i believe in setting things out in their proper order - of course, in this case that means kind of wildly out of order, but oh well. it works, i promise. if anyone is particularly confused about something, feel free to ask me. I will do my best to respond ^_^

as to the format itself (and, yes, i know, this A/N is taking up an inordinate amount of space, but I'm almost done, I swear!) every section will be headed by - well, by a header - which will tell you which book and which chapter it's meant to be in. I have tried to provide page numbers too. the accuracy of said page numbers will probably vary on whether you have the hard or soft cover version of the book, but I'm hoping it will give you a ballpark range at least. (if you really, _really_ know your HP, then you might not even need the book) just in case, however, I will make sure to always begin and end with something straight from the book, so you will have reference points. oh, and these : **[. . .]** are pretty self-explanatory; they stand in for wherever everything is exactly the same as in the actual books.

okay, just one more thing, and then I promise I'll be done. on the subject of reviews; I'm perfectly willing to accept constructive criticism and all, but please, if you absolutely hate this, that's fine, but please just stop reading - don't waste your time and mine by writing a flame.

alright, thank you for putting up with this hideously long A/N. but now you know (i think...) everything you need to in order to read this fic. hope you enjoy!

~SilverKit'sFire

* * *

The Chamber of Secrets

Chapter 5: The Whomping Willow

(p. 84)

[. . .]

"Good for you," said a fifth year Harry had never spoken to; someone was patting him on the back as though he'd just won a marathon; Fred and George pushed their way to the front of the crown and said together, "Why couldn't we've come in the car, eh?"

"Oh? Enjoy trouble, do you?" asked a girl Harry was sure he'd never seen before. She had eyes like dark emeralds and her hair was a deep garnet red. There were three other girls standing with her who looked so similar that they had to be related somehow.

"Us? Trouble?" said Fred innocently.

"Never!" said George.

"Oh brother," said the girl, rolling her eyes. "Chasta, Shasta, I think we've found your long lost brothers." She looked back at the two taller of her companions who raised their eyebrows.

"No way," said one, eyeing Fred and George with scepticism.

"Yeah," said the other girl — Harry was sure they were twins, all four of the girls had green eyes and red of varying shades, but these two were identical. "I don't think anyone can match us for mischief."

As Fred and George protested loudly, clearly taking this as a challenge, yet more people came forth to congratulate Ron and Harry for flying a car to school. Ron was scarlet in the face, grinning embarrassedly, but Harry could see one person who didn't look happy at all. Percy was visible over the heads of some excited first years, and he seemed to be trying to get near enough to start telling them off. Harry nudged Ron in the ribs and nodded in Percy's direction. Ron got the point at once.

"Got to get up stairs — bit tired," he said, and the two of them started pushing their way toward the door on the other side of the room, which led to a spiral staircase and the dormitories.

"'Night," Harry called back to Hermione, who was wearing a scowl just like Percy's.

[. . .]

The dormitory door flew open and in came the other second year Gryffindor boys, Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas, and Neville Longbottom.

"_Unbelievable!_" beamed Seamus.

"Cool," said Dean.

"Amazing," said Neville, awestruck.

Harry couldn't help it. He grinned, too. It was only after he and Ron had told the story of their car flying adventure first hand that Harry remembered the girls from the common room. He asked the others about them as they all got ready for bed.

"Oh, them," said Dean. "Dumbledore explained at the feast, but you missed it. Apparently they just transferred here."

"Transferred?" said Harry curiously. "I didn't know you could do that here."

"Me neither," said Dean, shrugging, "but I guess you can, 'cause they did. Anyway, the older two, the twins, are going to be third years, and the other two are in our year. Can't remember their names, though."

"One was called Kaysa, I think," said Seamus frowning. "Don't know about the other one — something unpronounceable sounding. Anyway, who cares. I still can't believe you flew here!"

Harry was still grinning as he drifted off to sleep.

[. . . ]

* * *

The Chamber of Secrets

Chapter 6: Gilderoy Lockheart

(p. 89)

[. . . ]

But he had no time to dwell on this; Professor McGonagall was moving along the Gryffindor table, handing out course schedules. Harry took his and saw that they had double Herbology with the Hufflepuffs first.

"Er, excuse me," said a voice as they stood to go. Harry, Ron, and Hermione all turned to see the two new girls standing there, looking a bit unsure.

"Sorry," said the taller one, "but we only got a brief tour yesterday before the feast. Do you mind showing us where we're going?"

"Yeah, alright," said Harry as Ron and Hermione nodded. "I'm Harry, by the way, Harry Potter. And these are my friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger."

"Kaysa," said the girl, smiling and holding out hand for them all to shake. "And my friend here is Chitral." Her companion smiled shyly. She was also green eyed, though her hair was more of a red-gold than garnet and she was shorter than Kaysa by about half and head.

"Are you all sisters or something?" Ron asked them as they left the Great Hall.

"No," said Kaysa, "that's just Chasta and Shasta, the twins. But we are all related — don't ask me how though. I never could manage to remember which kind of cousin was which."

They all left the castle together chatting, crossed the vegetable patch, and made for the greenhouses, where the magical plants were kept. At least the Howler had done one good thing: Hermione seemed to think they had now been punished enough and was being perfectly friendly again.

[. . .]

They went down to lunch, where Ron's mood was not improved by Hermione's showing them the handful of perfect coat buttons she had produced in Transfiguration. One of the new girls, Chitral, had also had some success. She held out four little black buttons for Hermione's inspection as Ron glowered. Chitral must have noticed his foul mood because she said, "Don't feel too bad. Kaysa didn't manage it either, did you, Kays?"

"Oh, shut up," her friend growled, looking put out. "Transfiguration's never been my strong point."

"What have we got this afternoon?" said Harry, hastily changing the subject.

[. . .]


	3. Chamber of Secrets2

disclaimer: only thing in here that's truly mine are the OC's

* * *

The Chamber of Secrets

Chapter 8: The Deathday Party

(p. 130)

[. . .]

Rain was still lashing the windows, which were now inky black, but inside all looked bright and cheerful. The firelight glowed over the countless squashy armchairs where people sat reading, talking, doing homework, or, in the case of Fred and George Weasley, watched closely by Chasta and Shasta — the two sets of twins had quickly progressed from friendly competitions of mischief to fast friends and cohorts — trying to find out what happened if you fed a Filibuster firework to a salamander. Fred had "rescued" the brilliant orange, fire-dwelling lizard from a Care of Magical Creatures class and it was now smouldering gently on a table surrounded by a knot of curious people.

Harry was at the point of telling Ron and Hermione about Filch and the Kwikspell course when the salamander suddenly whizzed into the air, emitting loud sparks and bangs as it whirled wildy around the room. The sight of Percy bellowing himself hoarse at Fred and George while Chasta and Shasta whooped delightedly, the spectacular display of tangerine stars showering fro the salamander's mouth, and its escape into the fire, with many accompanying explosions, drove both Filch and the Kwikspell envelope from Harry's mind.

[. . .]

* * *

The Chamber of Secrets

Chapter 10: The Rogue Bludger

(p. 174)

[. . .]

Hermione, Kaysa, and Chitral waited outside the curtain drawn around Harry's bed while Ron helped him into his pajamas. It took a while to stuff the rubbery, boneless arm into a sleeve.

"How can you stick up for Lockheart now, Hermione, eh?" Ron called through the curtain as he pulled the Harry's limp fingers through the cuff. "If Harry had wanted deboning he would have asked."

"Anyone can make a mistake," said Hermione. "And it doesn't hurt anymore, does it Harry?"

"No," said Harry, getting into bed. "But it doesn't do anything else either."

As he swung himself onto the bed, his arm flapped pointlessly.

"Ai-ya," Kaysa growled angrily as she, Chitral, and Hermione came around the curtain. "Honestly. Harry, next time wait 'til someone who actually knows what they're doing shows up, would you? I —"

"Kaysa!" Chitral hissed, looking at her friend sharply.

"Oh, come on, Chi, I like them," said Kaysa. "And besides you know I'm right. Even a kit could have done a better job than that."

"What are you talking about?" Hermione demanded. "And Lockheart knows what he's doing. Have you even read his books?"

"Haven't you been paying attention to the evidence right in front of you?" Kaysa retorted. "Really, Hermione, I though you were smarter that that. I don't care what he's written, the guy is incompetence city."

Hermione bristled visibly. Foreseeing an argument and wanting to divert it, Harry said quickly, "You still haven't explained about the other stuff you said."

"Yeah," said Ron, frowning at the girls. "What did you mean "even a kid could have done better"?"

Kaysa opened her mouth to speak, but just then Madame Pomfrey came over holding a large bottle of something labelled _Skele-Gro._

"Maybe we should explain later," suggested Chitral pointedly. Kaysa nodded, wrinkling her nose as Madame Pomfrey un-stoppered the bottle.

"You're in for a rough night," she said, pouring out a steaming beakerful and handing it to Harry. "Regrowing bones is a nasty business."

So was taking the Skele-Gro. It burned Harry's mouth and throat as it went down, making him cough and splutter. Still tut-tutting about dangerous sports and inept teachers, Madame Pomfrey retreated, leaving Ron and Hermione to help Harry gulp down some water while Chitral gave Kaysa a look that suggested to Harry that whatever Kaysa had been about to tell them was some kind of secret that Chitral wasn't sure they should know. From the way Hermione looked sideways at them, Harry though that she, too, had noticed, but Ron clearly had other things on his mind.

"We won, though," he said, a grin breaking across his face. "That was some catch you made. Malfoy's face . . . he looked ready to kill. . . ."

"Mm, definitely worth seeing," said Kaysa, her eyes glittering gleefully.

"Yes, fantastic catch, Harry," agreed Chitral distractedly. "Kaysa, I need to talk to you, please."

"Okay," said Kaysa shrugging. "See you guys later," she called over her shoulder as she and Chitral left.

"Weird," said Harry looking thoughtfully after them. "I wonder what that was all about."

"No idea," said Ron. "But Kaysa said she'd tell us later."

"Mm, yes. . . . I want to know how Malfoy fixed that Bludger," said Hermione darkly.

"We can add that to the list of questions we'll ask him when we've taken the Polyjuice Potion," said Harry, sinking back onto his pillows. "I hope it tastes better than that Skele-Gro stuff. . . ."

"If it's got bits of Slytherins in it? You've got to joking," said Ron.

[. . .]

* * *

The Chamber of Secrets

Chapter 11: The Dueling Club

(p. 186)

[. . .]

Harry's Swelling Solution was far too runny, but he had his mind on more important things. He was waiting for Hermione's signal, and he hardly listened as Snape paused to sneer at his watery potion. When Snape turned and walked off or bully Neville, Hermione caught Harry's eye and nodded.

Harry swallowed; he had considered asking Kaysa for help — one of the things everyone had noticed almost immediately about her was that she seemed to actually enjoy deliberately antagonizing Snape — but then he would have had to tell her what he and Ron and Hermione were up to, and while he liked Kaysa and Chitral he wasn't sure he was ready to trust them that much yet. So now distracting Snape was entirely up to him.

Harry ducked swiftly down behind his cauldron, pulled one of Fred's Filibuster fireworks out of his pocket, and gave it a quick prod with his wand. The firework began to fizz and sputter. Knowing he had only seconds, Harry straightened up, took aim, and lobbed it into the air; it landed right on target in Goyle's cauldron.

[. . .]

A week later, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were walking across the entrance hall when they saw a small knot of people gathered around the notice board, reading a piece of parchment that had just been pinned up. Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas beckoned them over, looking excited.

"They're starting a Dueling Club!" said Seamus. "First meeting tonight! I wouldn't mind dueling lessons; they might come in handy on of these days. . . ."

"What, you reckon Slytherin's monster can duel?" said Ron, but he, too, read the sign with interest.

"Could be useful," he said to Harry and Hermione as they went into dinner.

"Useful?" crowed Kaysa, her eyes shining as she came up to sit with them, Chitral in tow. "Who cares? It sounds like a blast! I wouldn't miss it for the world!"

Chitral rolled her eyes at her friend. "Honestly Kaysa, some days I swear you're just insane."

Kaysa just laughed.

"Shall we go?" Ron asked, ignoring her.

Harry and Hermione were all for it, so at eight o'clock that evening they hurried back to they Great Hall with Kaysa and Chitral. The long dining tables had vanished and a golden stage had appeared along one wall, lit by thousands of candles floating overhead. The ceiling was velvety black once more and most of the school seemed to be packed beneath it, all carrying wands and looking excited.

"I wonder who will be teaching us?" said Hermione as they edged into the chattering crowd. "Someone told me Flitwick was a dueling champion when he was young — maybe it'll be him."

"As long as it's not —" Harry began, but he ended on a groan: Gilderoy Lockheart was walking onto the stage, resplendent in robes of deep plumb and accompanied by none other than Snape, wearing his usual black.

[. . .]

Both of them swung their wands above their heads and pointed them at their opponent; Snape cried: _"Expelliarmus!" _There was a dazzling flash of scarlet light and Lockheart was blasted off his feet: He flew backward off the stage, smashed into the wall, and slid down it to sprawl on the floor.

Malfoy and some of the other Slytherins cheered. Hermione was dancing on tiptoes. "Do you think he's all right?" she squealed through her fingers.

"Who cares?" said Harry and Ron together.

"No kidding!" said Kaysa. "People with brains: one. Lockheart: zero!" she called out loudly. Snape shot her a startled look. Kaysa shrugged at him.

"What?" she demanded, when she saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione giving her equally incredulous looks. "Just because I don't like him doesn't mean he isn't clever. Besides, it's more fun that way. Stupid people are too easy."

"Gees, Kays," said Chitral, "sometimes, I swear. . . . " She trailed off, shaking her head despairingly.

Lockheart was getting unsteadily to his feet. His hat had fallen off and his wavy hair was standing on end.

[. . .]

"Allow me!" shouted Lockheart. He brandished his wand at the snake and there was a loud bang; the snake, instead of vanishing, flew ten feet into the air and fell back to the floor with a loud smack.

Dimly Harry heard Kaysa mutter, "Oh, yes. Piss it off. That'll help. Just brilliant — bloody moron!"

"Kaysa, shut up!" Chitral hissed at her.

Enraged, hissing furiously, the snake slithered straight toward Justin Finch-Fletchley and raised itself again, fangs exposed, poised to strike.

Harry wasn't sure what made him do it. He wasn't even aware of deciding to do it. All he knew was that his legs were carrying him forward as though he was on casters and that he had shouted stupidly at the snake, "Leave him alone!" And miraculously — inexplicably — the snake slumped to the floor, docile as a think, black garden hose, its eyes now on Harry. Harry felt the fear drain out of him. He knew the snake wouldn't attack anyone now, though how he knew it, he couldn't have explained.

He looked up at Justin, grinning, expecting to see Justin looking relieved, or puzzled, or even grateful — but certainly not angry and scared.

"What do you think you're playing at?" he shouted, and before Harry could say anything, Justin had turned and stormed out of the hall.

Snape stepped forward and raised his wand to get rid of the snake, but by this time Kaysa had pushed her way to the front of the crowd.

"Don't you dare," she said firmly, pushing Snape aside and bending down to scoop up the snake. "She's a living thing!"

"Kaysa!" Chitral moaned quietly. "Don't make a scene, please."

But no one seemed to be paying any attention. Everyone was watching Harry. Even Snape was looking at him in an unexpected way: It was a shrewd and calculating look, and Harry didn't like it. He was also dimly aware of an ominous muttering all around the walls. Then he felt a tugging on the back of his robes.

"Come on," said Ron's voice in his ear. "Move — come _on _—"

[. . .]

"For heaven's sake, Harry," said Hermione, exasperated, as one of Ron's bishops wrestled her knight off his horse and dragged him off the board. "Go and _find_ Justin if it's so important to you."

So Harry got up and left through the portrait hole, wondering where Justin might be.

The castle was darker than it usually was in daytime because of the thick, swirling gray snow at every window. Shivering, Harry walked past classrooms where lessons were taking place, catching snatches of what was happening within. Professor McGonagall was shouting at someone who, by the sound of it, had turned his friend into a badger. Resisting the urge to take a look, Harry walked on by, thinking that Justin might be using his free time to catch up on some work, and deciding to check the library first.

But as he headed for the stairs something brought him up short: Down a smaller corridor the sound of hushed but definitely angry voiced heralded an argument not meant for all ears. Harry wouldn't have stopped to listen except the voices seemed familiar. Moving as quietly as he could, Harry peered around the corner and the sight that met his eyes confirmed his suspicions.

Halfway down the corridor stood Kaysa and Chitral, arguing heatedly, just loudly enough for Harry to make out what they were saying.

"— don't know what you're so worked up about," Kaysa was saying. "Honestly, Chitral."

"'Don't know what I'm'! — Kaysa, are you nuts?" Chitral hissed fiercely. "You have to be more careful!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," snapped Kaysa. "I haven't done anything—"

"Oh no?" Chitral challenged her furiously. "Ai-ya, Kaysa! The way you've been acting lately, I'd think you didn't even — I mean, really! Do you _want _people to start asking questions? Do you really want to risk everything for a _snake? _What did you even do with the thing anyway?"

"What? Oh, you mean at the duel—"

"Yes, I mean at the duel."

"I'm keeping her until I can release her somewhere. And I don't know why you're so worried, no one was paying any attention!"

"I don't care," said Chitral firmly. "You keep pulling stunts like that and someone is going to notice. Stop doing things that call attention—" She broke off suddenly and both girls' heads whipped toward the entrance of the corridor — and Harry, who quickly ducked out of sight, wondering or if they were just paranoid or if maybe he had made some noise. There was silence for a moment, then Kaysa and Chitral resumed their argument, but quieter and in some foreign language that Harry didn't recognize. Deciding that it was best not to stick around any longer, Harry left quickly for the library in search of Justin; he'd tell Ron and Hermione about the girls' strange fight later.

When he reached the library, he saw that a group of the Hufflepuffs who should have been in Herbology were indeed sitting at the back the library, but they didn't seem to be working. Between the long lines of high bookshelves, Harry could see that their heads were close together and they were having what looked like an absorbing conversation. He couldn't see whether Justin was among them. He was walking toward them when something of what they were saying met his ears, and he paused to listen, hidden in the Invisibility section. What he heard would be enough to drive Kaysa and Chitral's odd behaviour from his mind.

[. . .]


	4. Chamber of Secrets3

disclaimer: Kaysa, Chitral, Chasta, and Shasta are all mine, everything else belongs to JK Rowling

* * *

The Chamber of Secrets

Chapter 13: The Very Secret Diary

(p. 227)

Hermione remained in the hospital wing for several weeks. There was a flurry of rumour about her disappearance when the rest of the school arrived back from their Christmas holidays, because of course everyone thought that she had been attacked. So many students filed past the hospital wing trying to catch a glimpse of her that Madam Pomfrey took out her curtains again and placed them around Hermione's bed, to spare her the shame of being seen with a furry face.

Harry and Ron went to visit her every evening, and Harry finally remembered to tell Ron and Hermione about the argument he'd seen Kaysa and Chitral having. They were interested, but just as mystified as Harry was, and, as Hermione reminded them, with the heir of Slytherin on the loose, they had more important things to worry about. Harry and Ron had to agree, and they kept their ears open for anything that might give them any clues as to who it might be. Then, when the new term started, they started bringing Hermione each day's homework, as well as any news they had.

"If I'd sprouted whiskers, I'd take a break from work," said Ron, tipping a stack of books onto Hermione's bedside table one evening.

"Don't be silly, Ron. I've got to keep up," said Hermione briskly. Her spirits were greatly improved by the fact that all the hair had gone from her face and her eyes were turning slowly back to brown. "I don't suppose you've got any new leads?" she added in a whisper, so that Madam Pomfrey couldn't hear her.

"Nothing," said Harry gloomily.

[. . .]

* * *

The Chamber of Secrets

Chapter 14: Cornelius Fudge

(p. 251)

[. . .]

The second years were given something new to think about during their Easter holidays. The time had come to choose their subjects for the third year, a matter that Hermione, at least, took very seriously.

"It could affect our whole future," she told Harry and Ron as they poured over lists of new subjects, marking them with checks.

"I just want to give up Potions," said Harry.

"We can't," said Ron gloomily. "We keep all our old subjects, or I'd've ditched Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"But that's very important!" said Hermione, shocked.

"Not the way Lockheart teaches it," said Ron. "I haven't learned anything from him except not to set pixies loose."

Neville Longbottom had been sent letters from all the witches and wizards in his family, all giving him different advice on what to choose. Confused and worried, he sat reading the subject lists with his tongue poking out, asking people whether they thought Arithmancy sounded more difficult than the study of Ancient Runes. Dean Thomas, who, like Harry, had grown up with Muggles, ended up closing his eyes and jabbing his wand at the list, then picking the subjects it landed on. Kaysa and Chitral seemed to be using a sort of bargaining system to decide on their new subjects. Harry overheard Chitral saying "Divination, Kaysa? Really? Okay, fine, but only if you'll take Arithmancy with me." "Great," Kaysa had replied, "and Care of Magical Creatures, of course." Chitral had rolled her eyes at this, but agreed. Hermione, of course, took nobody's advice but signed up for everything.

Harry smiled grimly to himself at the thought of what Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia would say if he tried to discuss his career in wizardry with them. Not that he didn't get any advice: Percy Weasley was eager to share his expertise.

[. . .]

* * *

The Chamber of Secrets

Chapter15: Aragog

(p. 267)

[. . .]

Snape swept past Harry, making no comment about Hermione's empty seat and cauldron.

"Sir," said Malfoy loudly. "Sir, why don't _you_ apply for the headmaster's job?"

"Now, now, Malfoy," said Snape, though he couldn't suppress a thin-lipped smile. "Professor Dumbledore has only been suspended by the governors. I daresay he'll be back with us soon enough."

"Yeah, right," said Malfoy, smirking. "I expect you'd have Father's vote, sir, if you wanted to apply for the job — _I'll _tell Father you're the best teacher here, sir —"

Snape smirked as he swept off around the dungeon, fortunately not spotting Seamus Finnigan, who was pretending to vomit into his cauldron. It was generally unwise to be caught showing any kind of disrespect in Snape's class — students were always careful with him, no matter how much they disliked him. Kaysa, however, seemed to have no such reservations.

"Great stars, Malfoy," she drawled, sneering at him in disgust. "Could you possibly be any more of a sycophant?"

Malfoy glared at her, but said nothing. Harry suspected that while he could tell it was an insult, Malfoy probably had no idea what a sycophant was. Kaysa seemed to have come to the same conclusion.

"It means 'suck-up,'" she supplied, her tone intentionally condescending.

Malfoy's pale cheeks flushed slightly and his eyes glinted with anger, but he didn't seem to be able to think of anything to say. Snape, however, did.

"Surely, Miss Kaysa, you wouldn't be suggesting that my teaching methods are unsatisfactory, now, would you?" he asked her, his voice dangerously soft.

Anyone sane would have shut up fast and braced themselves, but Harry was seriously begin to question Kaysa's sanity because she looked Snape right in the eye and grinned, like this was some fabulous sort of game.

"Why, Professor," she said, her voice all but drowning in sarcasm. "Why would _anyone_ want to insinuate such a thing?"

"Ten points from Gryffindor," Snape snapped. "And you can go stand in the hall for the rest of the class."

"But I'm not finished yet," Kaysa protested.

"And you're not supposed to leave students alone in the halls now," added Chitral, looking far more concerned for Kaysa than her friend did.

"In that case, Miss Chitral, you had better join her," said Snape silkily.

"But —" Chitral began.

"Now," said Snape, "Or it will be another ten points."

Chitral shut her mouth. Kaysa rolled her eyes, packed up her stuff and left the room. Chitral followed her quickly.

Malfoy smirked. "I hope the monster gets them both," he said maliciously, watching them go. "I'm quite surprised the Mudbloods haven't all packed their bags by now," he went on, clearly having regained his sense of superiority. "Bet you five Galleons the nest one dies. Pity it wasn't Granger —"

The bell rang at that moment, which was lucky; at Malfoy's last words, Ron had leapt off his stool, and in the scramble to collect bags and books, his attempts to reach Malfoy went unnoticed.

"Let me at him," Ron growled as Harry and Dean hung on to his arms. "I don't care, I don't need my wand, I'm going to kill him with my bare hands —"

"Hurry up, I've got to take you all to Herbology," barked Snape over the class's heads, and off they marched, picking up an impatient Kaysa and Chitral in the hallway, and with Harry, Ron, and Dean bringing up the rear, Ron still trying to get loose. It was only safe to let go of him when Snape had seen them out of the castle and they were making their way across the vegetable patch toward the greenhouses.

[. . .]

Lockheart bounded into the room and the class stared at him. Every other teacher in the place was looking grimmer than usual, but Lockheart seemed nothing short of buoyant.

"Come now," he cried, beaming around him. "Why all these long faces?"

People swapped exasperated looks, but nobody answered.

"Don't you people realize," said Lockheart, speaking slowly, as though they were all a bit dim, "the danger has passed! The culprit has been taken away —"

"Says who?" said Dean Thomas loudly.

"My dear young man, the Minister of Magic wouldn't have taken Hagrid if he hadn't been one hundred percent sure that he was guilty," said Lockheart, in the tone of someone explaining that one and one made two.

"Oh, yes he would," said Ron, even more loudly than Dean.

"I flatter myself I know a _touch_ more about Hagrid's arrest that you do, Mr. Weasley," said Lockheart in a self-satisfied tone.

Ron started to say that he didn't think so, somehow, but stopped in midsentence when Harry kicked him hard under the desk.

"We weren't there, remember?" Harry muttered.

"So you seriously think that no one has ever been wrongfully convicted and sent to Azkaban before, do you?" asked Kaysa, incredulous.

"Certainly not, my dear lady," said Lockheart blithely. "Azkaban prison is hardly a pleasant place. I'm sure no one would ever send someone there without being sure they deserved it."

"Huh!" Kaysa snorted. "Goes to show what _you_ know about politics."

"Kaysa," Chitral muttered warningly, as Lockheart stared at her bemusedly, apparently unsure why politics should have anything to do with it. At last, he just shook his head sadly.

"So cynical," he said. "And still so young. You should really try to have more faith in people."

Kaysa opened her mouth to reply, but Harry saw Chitral step on her foot, and before she could say anything, Lockheart was off again. But as the class went on, Lockheart's disgusting cheeriness, his hints that he had always thought that Hagrid was no good, his confidence that the whole business was now at an end, irritated Harry so much that he yearned to throw _Gadding with Ghouls_ right in Lockheart's stupid face. Instead he contented himself with scrawling a note to Ron: _Let's do it tonight._

Ron read the message, swallowed hard, and looked sideways at the empty seat usually filled by Hermione. The sight seemed to stiffen his resolve, and he nodded.

[. . .]


	5. Chamber of Secrets4

disclaimer: i think you probably get it by now... but just in case, HP and all its original characters belong to JK Rowling. last i looked, i wasn't Rowling.

* * *

The Chamber of Secrets

Chapter 16: The Chamber of Secrets

(p. 293)

[. . .]

They hid themselves inside it, listening to the rumbling of hundreds of people moving overhead, and the staff room door banging open. From between musty folds of the cloaks, they watched the teachers filtering into the room. Some of them were looking puzzled, others downright scared. Then Professor McGonagall arrived with, for reasons unfathomable to Harry, Kaysa and Chitral in tow.

"— shouldn't be here, Professor," Kaysa was protesting. "We need to get to the dormitory. Someone's going to notice —"

"Miss Kaysa," said Professor McGonagall impatiently, "if things proceed like this, I very much doubt that that will matter, so will you please stop worrying about _yourself_ for a moment."

Kaysa blushed crimson and hung her head, ashamed.

"Professor, what —" Chitral began quietly, but McGonagall held up a hand and she fell quiet.

"It has happened," she told the now silent staff room. "A student has been taken by the monster. Right into the Chamber itself."

Professor Flitwick let out a squeal. Professor Sprout and Chitral both clapped their hands over their mouths. Kaysa looked, if possible, even more ashamed. Snape gripped the back of a chair very hard and said, "How can you be sure?"

"The Heir of Slytherin," said Professor McGonagall, who was very white, "left another message. Right underneath the first one. _'Her skeleton will lie in the Chamber forever.'"_

Professor Flitwick burst into tears.

"Who is it?" said Madam Hooch, who had sunk, weak-kneed, into a chair. "Which student?"

"Ginny Weasley," said Professor McGonagall.

Harry felt Ron slide silently down onto the wardrobe floor beside him. Out in the room, Chitral swayed where she stood. To Harry's surprise, Snape, of all people, caught her and pushed her roughly into a chair.

"Oh, God!" Kaysa breathed. Professor McGonagall turned to her.

"Please," she said desperately, "Please tell me there's something you can do."

Kaysa shook her head, her eyes overbright and wide with horror.

"Please," said Professor McGonagall again. "There must be something —"

"I — I _can't!_" Kaysa managed.

"Kaysa, maybe —" Chitral started, but Kaysa shook her head.

"We can't, Chi, you know we can't." She looked imploringly at Professor McGongall as though begging her to understand. "The rules — we mustn't interfere. . . ."

"Couldn't you try?" asked McGonagall. "What about those guardians of yours? Trig and — and — that other one."

But both girls were shaking their heads. "Trig and Vira are there to enforce the rules," said Kaysa. "They'd never help us break them."

"Vira might," said Chitral, but she didn't look like she believed it.

"Not this one," said Kaysa. "Professor, please. Please don't ask this of us." She looked desperately around the room. "You're wizards," she said pleadingly. "You know what happens when you meddle with things like time and the proper order of things. Chitral and I don't belong here — We can't —we can't —" Her voice had risen in grief and frustration, and now she broke off, covering her mouth with one hand as though physically restraining herself.

"I'm sorry," Chitral whispered from her seat. There were wet tracks running down her face.

Professor McGonagall nodded, her eyes closed, steeling herself to the inevitable.

"We shall have to send all the students home tomorrow," she said at last. "This is the end of Hogwarts. Dumbledore always said . . ."

The staffroom door banged open. For one wild moment, Harry was sure it would be Dumbledore. But it was Lockheart, and he was beaming.

"So sorry — dozed off — what have I missed?"

He seem to notice that the other teachers were looking at him with something remarkably like hatred. Or that Kaysa was actually growling softly, with her lips pulled back from her teeth. Harry felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up; it was not a friendly expression. Snape stepped forward, pushing Kaysa behind him and towards Chitral, who grabbed hold of her friend, though she, too, looked as though she would like nothing more than to pounce on Lockheart and tear him apart.

"Just the man," said Snape, a wicked gleam in his black eyes. "The very man. A girl has been snatched by the monster, Lockheart. Taken into the Chamber of Secrets itself. Your moment has come at last."

Lockheart blanched. Kaysa blinked, then grinned horribly.

"That's right, Gilderoy," chipped in Professor Sprout. "Weren't you saying just last night that you knew all along where the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets is?"

"I — well, I —" sputtered Lockheart.

"Yes, didn't you tell me you were sure you knew what was inside it?" piped up Professor Flitwick.

"D-did I? I don't recall —"

"I certainly remember you saying you were sorry you hadn't had a crack at the monster before Hagrid was arrested," said Snape. "Didn't you say that the whole affair had been bungled, and that you should have been given free rein from the first?"

Lockheart stared around at his stony-faced colleagues.

"I — I really never — you may have misunderstood —"

"We'll leave it to you, then, Gilderoy," said Professor McGonagall. "Tonight would be an excellent time to do it. We'll make sure everyone's out of your way. You'll be able to tackle the monster all by yourself. A free rein at last."

Lockheart gazed desperately around him, but nobody came to his rescue. He didn't look remotely handsome anymore. His lip was trembling, and in the absence of his usual toothy grin, he looked weak-chinned and feeble.

"V-very well," he said. "I'll — I'll be in my office getting — getting ready."

And he left the room.

"Right," said Professor McGonagall, whose nostrils were flared, "that's got _him_ out from under our feet. The Heads of Houses should go and inform their students what has happened. Tell them the Hogwarts Express will take them home first thing tomorrow. Will the rest of you please make sure no students have been left outside their dormitories. Miss Kaysa, Miss Chitral, you'd better come with me."

The teachers rose and left, one by one.

[. . .]

The Chamber of Secrets

Chapter 18: Dobby's Reward

(p. 340)

[. . .]

The rest of the final term passed in a haze of blazing sunshine. Hogwarts was back to normal with only a few, small differences — Defense Against the Dark Arts classes were cancelled ("but we've had plenty of practice at that anyway," Ron told a disgruntled Hermione) and Lucius Malfoy had been sacked as a school governor. Draco was no longer strutting around the school as though he owned the place. On the contrary, he looked resentful and sulky. On the other hand, Ginny Weasley was perfectly happy again.

Too soon, it was time for the journey home on the Hogwarts Express. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, and Ginny got a compartment all to themselves. Then Harry dragged Kaysa, Chitral, Chasta, and Shasta in with them.

"Hey!" George protested.

"It's getting a bit crowded in here," said Fred.

"I know," said Harry. "Sorry, guys, but I want answers and I think it's best if they're all here. I mean, they are all related."

Fred, George, and Ginny looked confused, but Ron and Hermione looked like they were catching on.

"Right," said Harry, turning to Kaysa and her posse — he wasn't quite sure why, but he couldn't help but think of her as the leader of sorts. "What's the deal with you all?"

There was dead silence in the car for a few moments, and then Chasta and Shasta turned to Kaysa, with their arms crossed and said, "Alright, Kaysa, what did you do?"

"What? Me?" Kaysa exclaimed. "Why do you assume it was me?"

"Oh, please," said Chitral, rolling her eyes. "It's _always_ you."

Chasta and Shasta nodded agreement.

"Okay, okay, fine. Maybe it usually is," said Kaysa. "But this time I'm as in the dark as the rest of you —"

"How can you be?" Chitral wanted to know. "You've been dropping hints and calling attention to us all year!"

"Not enough," said Kaysa, eyeing Harry thoughtfully. "Not enough for him to be this sure."

"We were in the wardrobe in the teacher's lounge," Harry explained. "We heard the whole thing."

"What whole thing?" asked Hermione, as understanding dawned in Kaysa's eyes. So Harry and Ron told Hermione, Fred, George, and Ginny what they'd seen. And now all eyes turned to Kaysa and the other girls.

"Well?" Harry prompted.

Kaysa hesitated. "It's complicated," she warned. When no one said anything, she sighed, resigned. "Alright," she said. "The short version goes something like this: The world — the universe — is a lot bigger than you know. We," she pointed to herself and the other three, "aren't exactly from around here — um…" She paused, apparently not sure how much to say.

"You mean you're aliens?" said Fred, looking incredulous.

All four girls grimaced.

"That's such a prejudicial word," Chasta complained. "But I suppose, by the strictest definition, yes, we are. We're not from this planet and we're not the same species as you. But we are still people, you know."

"You could have told us," said George reproachfully.

"We weren't supposed to," said Shasta, giving Kaysa a look. "Actually, we're not even really supposed to be here. We had to get special permission."

"From that Trig person?" asked Ron.

"Sort of," said Kaysa, rubbing her temples. "Look, don't ask about Trig. The answers will give you the worst kind of headache. All you really need to know about us and our people is that we have our own brand of magic. We're Shifters. We can shape-shift, travel through time and space at will, and we have to follow all kinds of annoying rules so we don't screw anything up by mistake."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"You can't muck about with time, Harry," said Chitral flatly. "It's why we couldn't do anything to save Ginny. We don't belong here, so we can't interfere, because if we do, then we change the natural order of things. The Council would have our hides for that."

"Oh, and there's one more thing you should probably know," said Kaysa. _We're all telepathic._

Harry blinked. It was the weirdest feeling. He could _feel_ her in his head. A moment later and he could feel the others, too. There was a full minute of silence as everyone digested this, then, "Cool, can you teach us?" Fred and George wanted to know.

Kaysa, Chitral, Chasta, and Shasta all laughed. The tension broke.

"It won't work if we're not around," said Kaysa, grinning. "But if you all want to learn, we can teach you."

"Not that it's very hard," added Chitral, smiling wryly.

After that they made the most of the last few hours in which they were allowed to do magic before the holidays. They played Exploding Snap, set off the very last of Fred and George's Filibuster fireworks, and practiced disarming each other by magic. Harry was getting very good at it.

They were almost at King's Cross when Harry remembered something.

"Ginny — what did you see Percy doing, that he didn't want you to tell anyone?"

"Oh, that," said Ginny, giggling. "Well — Percy's got a _girlfriend."_

Fred dropped a stack of books on George's head.

"_What?"_

"It's that Ravenclaw prefect, Penelope Clearwater," said Ginny. "That's who he was writing to all last summer. He's been meeting her all over the school in secret. I walked in on them _kissing_ in an empty classroom one day. He was so upset when she was — you know —attacked. You won't tease him, will you?" she added anxiously.

"Wouldn't dream of it," said Fred, who was looking like his birthday had come early.

"Definitely not," said George, sniggering.

The Hogwarts Express slowed down and finally stopped.

Harry pulled out his quill and bit of parchment and turned to Ron and Hermione.

"This is called a telephone number," he told Ron, scribbling it twice, tearing the parchment in two, and handing it to them. "I told your dad how to use a telephone last summer — he'll know. Call me at the Dursley's, okay? I can't stand another two months with only Dudley to talk to. . ."

"Your aunt and uncle will be proud, though, won't they?" said Hermione as they got off the train and joined the crowd thronging toward the enchanted barrier. "When they hear what you did this year?"

"Proud?" said Harry. "Are you crazy? All those times I could've died, and I didn't manage it? They'll be furious. . . ."

And together they walked back through the gateway to the Muggle world

* * *

end book 2, book 3 soon to come. and i promise, by the end of book 3, things will make more sense.... reallyreally.... okay, in all seriousness though, I want to take a consensus: should I do an explanation chapter or something about Shifters, or is everyone okay? I tried to have Kaysa and Chitral explain the basics, but I'm not sure how good a job I did... since I already know the whole backstory here. so let me know if I'm just confusing you all, okay?

anyway, hope you enjoyed ^_^

~SilverKit'sFire


	6. Prisoner of Azkaban

disclaimer: me no own. you no sue... can't remember where i read that, but i like it ^_^

A/N: okay, so welcome to book 3. i was going to do another hideously long A/N to explain the whole shifter thing, but then decided it was better to do a prologue.... if anyone still has questions, feel free to ask. please enjoy!

* * *

The Prisoner of Azkaban

Chapter 5: The Dementor

(p. 74)

[. . .]

Harry, Ron, and Hermione set off down the corridor, looking for an empty compartment, but all were full except for the one at the very end of the train.

This had only one occupant, a man sitting fast asleep next to the window. Harry, Ron, and Hermione checked on the threshold. The Hogwarts Express was usually reserved for students and they had never seen an adult there before, except for the witch who pushed the food cart.

The stranger was wearing an extremely shabby set of wizard's robes that had been darned in several places. He looked ill and exhausted. Though quite young, his light brown hair was flecked with gray.

"Mind if we join you?" said a voice behind Harry. He turned to see Kaysa and Chitral, a pair of girls in his year coming down the corridor. Both had skin the color of ivory, long garnet colored hair, and eyes the color of emeralds. The best way to tell them apart just by looking was to know that Kaysa was taller than Chitral by half a head.

They also happened to not be human. Kaysa and Chitral belonged to a race of telepathic, shape-shifting creatures that had the ability to travel through time and space at will. They had their own type of magic, which was quite beyond any human capabilities.

They also weren't supposed to be on Earth. The Council, a body of seven Eyeians who made all the rules for their people, would flip if they ever got wind of Kaysa and Chitral's being there. The only reason they could be there was because they had managed to get special permission from Trig, who was, as far as Harry could make out, the oldest of the Eyeian folk and somehow could overrule the Council if she felt like it. Though, it also seemed that she hadn't yet and would prefer not to have to do so. So Kaysa and Chitral, as well as the twins, Chasta and Shasta, who were in the same year as Ron's twin brothers, were all very careful not to use very much of their own kind of magic so as to avoid detection.

"Oh," said Chitral, catching sight of the man, who stirred slightly, turning his head as if to catch a sound better. Chitral blinked and her face went oddly blank.

"On second thought," said Kaysa quietly, "maybe we'd better not. Too many people in there would wake him up probably," the man shifted in his sleep and Kaysa lowered her voice even more. "Come on, Chi, let's go find the twins." Kaysa pulled Chitral away.

"Wonder what that was all about?" said Harry, looking after them perplexedly.

"No idea. Who d'you reckon he is?" Ron hissed as they sat down and slid the door shut, taking the seats farthest from the window.

"Professor R. J. Lupin," whispered Hermione at once.

"How d'you know that?"

"It's on his case," she replied, pointing at the luggage rack over the man's head, where there was a small, battered case held together with a large quantity of neatly knotted string. The name _Professor R. J. Lupin_ was stamped across one corner in peeling letters.

[. . .]

The Prisoner of Azkaban

Chapter 6: Talons and Tea Leaves

(p. 104-110)

[. . .]

"Broaden your minds, my dears, and allow your eyes to see past the mundane!" Professor Trelawney cried through the gloom.

Kaysa and Chitral giggled.

"Oh," they said, and crossed their eyes. "Yes, we see now."

Harry tried to pull himself together.

[. . .]

She stopped again, and then said, in a very matter-of-fact tone, "You look in excellent health to me, Potter, so you will excuse me if I don't let you of homework today. I assure you that if you die, you need not hand it in. Now, Miss Kaysa, Miss Chitral, why on earth have you got your eyes crossed?"

"We're seeing," said Kaysa mock seriously.

"Beyond the mundane," Chitral added, nodding.

"Well, in this class, I'm afraid you need to be able to see straight, regardless as to how mundane the work may be," said Professor McGonagall, the corners of her mouth twitching slightly. Kaysa and Chitral sighed dramatically, and uncrossed their eyes.

Hermione laughed. Harry felt a bit better. . . .

[. . .]

The Prisoner of Azkaban

Chapter 6: Talons and Tea Leaves

(p. 118)

[. . .]

"I'm dying!" Malfoy yelled as the class panicked. "I'm dying, look at me! It's killed me!"

"Well, you're making one heck of a racket for a dead guy," snapped Kaysa, kneeling down and tearing strips of cloth from her robes.

"I'm dying!" Malfoy insisted.

"Hold bloody still!" Kaysa snarled, tying one of the strips tightly just below Malfoy's elbow and then using the other to bind the gash itself.

"Yer not dyin'!" said Hagrid, who had gone very white. "Someone help me — gotta get him outta here —"

[. . .]

The Prisoner of Azkaban

Chapter 7: The Boggart in the Wardrobe

(p. 126)

[. . .]

Snape moved away, leaving Neville breathless with fear.

"Help me," he moaned to Hermione.

"Who put a hornet in your robes this morning?" Kaysa asked Snape, glancing up from her potion.

Snape regarded her for a moment, then seemed to decide it was best to ignore her comment completely. He was quite wrong; as he made to sweep by her, Kaysa sighed in a resigned fashion and added something to her potion. It hissed and then blew up, drenching Snape entirely. This was all too common for anyone to pay much attention anymore; Kaysa frequently blew things up when she thought Snape deserved it. The only person ever much bothered by it was Malfoy, who couldn't believe how much misbehavior Kaysa was able to get away with in Snape's classes. Personally, Harry wondered if maybe Snape just liked having someone to really fight with.

"Hey, Harry," said Seamus Finnigan, leaning over to borrow Harry's brass scales as Snape and Kaysa embarked on their usual weekly argument, "have you heard. _Daily Prophet _this morning — they reckon Sirius Black's been sighted."

[. . .]

The Prisoner of Azkaban

Chapter 7: The Boggart in the Wardrobe

(p. 139)

[. . .]

"You and Hermione answered my questions correctly at the start of the class, Harry," Lupin said lightly. "Very well, everyone, and excellent lesson. Homework, kindly read the chapter on boggarts and summarize it for me . . . to be handed in on Monday. That will be —"

He stopped suddenly, eyes wide with shock. Following his gaze, Harry saw that Kaysa and Chitral, who, he suddenly realized, he hadn't seen at all throughout the whole class, had stepped forward into view.

"Ch-Chitral?" Lupin said disbelievingly. "Kaysa?"

They nodded, and, beaming, walked up to hug him. Lupin hugged them back looking quite astonished.

"What — ? How — ? Why you horrid fiends! Have you been here all this time?"

"Of course we have," said Kaysa looking up at him.

"And you never managed to come say hello?"

"Well," said Chitral, rather apologetically, "we did try. But the time just never quite seemed right..."

"You could have come and seen me on the train," said Lupin, a trace reproachfully.

"You were asleep," said Kaysa reasonably.

"And it was getting rather crowded in there," added Chitral.

"And what about now?" asked Lupin.

"Oh, we didn't want to distract you," said Kaysa grinning.

"Distract me?" echoed Lupin. "You wouldn't distract me."

"We already have," Kaysa pointed out. "You've forgotten to dismiss your class."

"I have, haven't I?" said Lupin, smiling faintly. "Alright everyone, that's all. You two stay, please," he added to Kaysa and Chitral. "We've got a lot of catching up to do."

[. . .]

* * *

A/N: okay, so i feel like i should explain the name Eyeian... i couldn't find a way to fit that into the story, but there actually is a reason for it. since Kaysa and Chitral's people are - essentially, anyway - lions, no one in the cosmos could get their mouths around their word for themselves. seriously, you'd need a feline's vocal cords to do it. and anyways, the word meant 'the people' in any case, so it wasn't like it could just be translated either. so since their eyes are distinctive - or at least informative (blue eyes mean slightly more powerful, but more general, magical abilities, while green eyes signify magic more specific to healing) - the rest of the world simply started calling them the Eyeians. and the Eyeians just sort of went with it because it was easier.


	7. Prisoner of Azkaban2

disclaimer: HP and it's characters are not mine, just Kaysa, Chitral, Chasta, and Shasta

* * *

The Prisoner of Azkaban

Chapter 8: Flight of the Fat Lady

(p. 141)

In no time at all, Defense Against the Dark Arts had become most people's favorite class. Only Draco Malfoy and his gang of Slytherins had anything bad to say about Professor Lupin.

"Look at the state of his robes," Malfoy would say in a loud whisper as Professor Lupin passed. "He dressed like our old house-elf." (Though he learned quickly enough not to say anything if either Kaysa or Chitral was within hearing range. Apparently he was an old friend of the family — at least, that's what they told most people; to Harry and the others, they explained that they'd met him before when they were visiting and had taken quite the shine to him.)

[. . .]

The Prisoner of Azkaban

Chapter 8: Flight of the Fat Lady

(p. 148)

[. . .]

"Well, not necessarily by a _fox," _said Lavender, looking up at Hermione with streaming eyes, "but I was _obviously_ dreading him dying, wasn't I?"

"Well, I should think so," said Kaysa, her voice uncharacteristically harsh. "If he was killed by a fox he must have been outside. It's stupid to keep anything smaller that a goat outside if you want it to live." Everyone stared at her; she looked very irritable. She'd been like that for a while now, and no one could figure out why.

"Oh," said Hermione. She paused again. Then —

[. . .]

The Prisoner of Azkaban

Chapter 8: Flight of the Fat Lady

(p. 153)

[. . .]

But Harry didn't go back to the common room; he climbed a staircase, thinking vaguely of visiting the Owlery to see Hedwig, and was walking along another corridor when a voice from inside one of the rooms said, "Harry?"

Harry doubled back to see who had spoken and met Professor Lupin, looking around his office door.

"What are you doing?" said Lupin, though in a very different voice from Filch. "Where are Ron and Hermione?"

"Hogsmeade," said Harry, in a would-be casual voice.

"Ah," said Lupin.

"Where are Kaysa and Chitral?" Harry asked, knowing that the girls generally spent the majority of their free time with Lupin.

"Hogsmeade," said Lupin with a wry smile. Harry wondered if Lupin felt anything like he did. Lupin considered Harry for a moment. "Why don't you come in? I've just taken delivery of a grindylow for our next lesson."

[. . .]

The Prisoner of Azkaban

Chapter 8: Flight of the Fat Lady

(p. 159)

[. . .]

"Why isn't anyone going in?" said Ron curiously.

Harry peered over the heads in front of him. The portrait seemed to be closed. Nearby, Kaysa and Chitral were standing together looking puzzled. Then Kaysa's nose twitched. She went very still, like an animal that had just scented something, and her eyes darted around the corridor. Chitral glanced at her friend and turned white. She grabbed Kaysa's arm and gave her a warning look.

"Let me through, please," came Percy's voice . . .

[. . .]

* * *

The Prisoner of Azkaban

Chapter 9: Grim Defeat

(p. 172)

[. . .]

Except for Kaysa and Chitral, who growled quietly, no one made a sound throughout the rest of the lesson. They sat and made notes on werewolves from the textbook, while Snape prowled up and down the rows of desks, examining the work they had been doing with Professor Lupin.

"Very poorly explained . . . That is incorrect, the kappa is more commonly found in Mongolia. . . . Professor Lupin gave this eight out of ten? I wouldn't have given it three. . . ."

"Well, it's lucky for us it's _his_ class then, isn't it."

Everyone looked round. It appeared that Kaysa had finally been goaded into speech.

"Meaning?" Snape said, rather menacingly.

"Meaning if you would grade so harshly, then it's lucky for us that this is Professor Lupin's class and not yours, or it seems we would all be failing," Kaysa said. But nobody in the class missed what she was really doing; reminding Snape that he was only subbing in. Snape hadn't seemed to miss it either. He stalked over to where Kaysa and Chitral were sitting, his eyes flashing dangerously.

"Are you undermining my authority?" he asked very softly. Kaysa looked up at him, one eyebrow raised.

"Of course not," she said scathingly. "How can I possibly undermine what isn't there in the first place?"

Snape bared his teeth but had no time to reply before:

"Oh, grr," Kaysa said, waving a mocking hand at him and sounding very bored. "You know, that really works a lot better if you actually have something in your mouth worth worrying about," and she showed her own teeth, which were now feline and quite a bit more impressive. Snape stared at her, incensed.

"Are you looking for a detention too, Miss Kaysa?" he hissed at her, leaning forward so they were almost nose-to-nose.

"What? On account of having voiced an opinion about your grading system?"

"Among other things. Because —"

"Oh, why don't you just go and screw your grading system," Kaysa suggested. "That would be about as productive as all this."

Snape straightened, evidently too startled to say anything.

"Kaysa, that's not really possible," Chitral muttered, just loudly enough for everyone to hear.

"Now is that the grading system's fault?" Kaysa asked sweetly. Upon which Snape docked them each twenty points and sent them to wait in the hall until class was over. The gleam in Kaysa's eyes suggested that she felt it was totally worth it.

When the bell rang at last, Snape held them back.

[. . .]

* * *

The Prisoner of Azkaban

Chapter 10: The Marauder's Map

(p. 185-189)

[. . .]

"Did you tell Professor Snape we haven't covered them yet?" Lupin asked, frowning slightly over the heads of Kaysa and Chitral, who had rushed up immediately to hug him.

The babble broke out again.

"Yes, but he said we were really behind —"

"— he wouldn't listen —"

_"— two rolls of parchment!"_

"He was being quite a bum, you know," Kaysa said, peering up at Lupin.

[. . .]

When the bell rang, everyone gathered up their things and headed for the door, Harry among them, but —

"Wait a moment, Harry," Lupin called. "I'd like a word. You too, girls," he added to Kaysa and Chitral.

Harry doubled back and watched Professor Lupin covering the hinkypunk's box with a cloth.

[. . .]

" . . . I chose a very inconvenient time to fall ill."

Harry nodded, and Lupin turned to Kaysa and Chitral.

"Now, just what did you girls do?" Lupin asked them. "Professor Snape has been positively insufferable you know."

"Oh — er — that was me," Kaysa said, a bit shamefacedly. "I — er — I suggested that he do something — er — anatomically improbable with his grading system."

Lupin looked at her. "Like, what sort of anatomically improbable something?" he asked warily.

"Just something," Kaysa said evasively.

Lupin turned to Chitral. "Please tell me she didn't tell him to put it where I think she did," he said, almost pleadingly.

Chitral shook her head. "Not improbable enough," she told him.

Lupin looked questioningly at Harry.

"What does it mean to screw something?" Harry asked. Lupin stared at him in alarm.

"Is that what she told him to do?"

"Yeah," said Harry. "So what does it mean?"

"Er — nothing you could ever manage with a grading system."

"I'll talk to Snape," Kaysa said. "He shouldn't give you a hard time because I was — er —"

"Excessively rude?" Lupin suggested. Kaysa nodded. "What do you mean by 'talk?'"

"I mean I'll "talk" to him, and he'll probably be only to happy to beat the snot out of me, and I of him, so we'll all be happy in the end. Don't worry; I'll patch him up afterwards."

[. . .]

* * *

The Prisoner of Azkaban

Chapter 11: The Firebolt

(p. 225)

[. . .]

"What do you think Harry's going to do with it — sweep the floor?" said Ron.

"Look, it's just odd," Hermione said. "Kaysa and Chitral both got things anonymously too. And they're all thrilled about it, but won't say who they think the stuff's from."

At that point, Kaysa and Chitral both came waltzing in, beaming.

"Merry Christmas!" Kaysa sang out happily. "What do you think?" she added, twirling about so that the skirt of the robe she was wearing flared out.

"What is it?" Harry asked.

"It's for dancing, of course," Kaysa said. "I love to dance. I haven't had one of these in years."

"And just look at this," Chitral said, holding up a book entitled _The Hobbit - Limited Edition_, but someone had written on it in hot pink ink so that it now read _Limited Pink Edition_. "Someone's gone through the whole book and written in 'See the mountain; it is _pink!_' every time the mountain is mentioned!"

She turned to Kaysa, who had her nose buried in the flowing sleeves of her dancing robe.

"It must have been him, Kays," she said. "Who else would know about that?"

"Who else, indeed?" Kaysa replied, but there was an odd expression on her face and she added quietly, almost to herself, "But who would have that much free time?"

"Anyway," she added, more loudly, "what are you so worked up about, Hermione?"

But before Hermione could answer, Crookshanks sprang from Seamus's bed, right at Ron's chest.

[. . .]

The Prisoner of Azkaban

Chapter 11: The Firebolt

(p. 230)

[. . .]

. . .and took the platter of sausages with trembling hands.

"Professor Dumbledore, sir," Chitral said hesitantly, "Could we maybe bring some of this to Professor Lupin? You know, since we can't get sick, and, well, it is Christmas; it just doesn't seem fair to leave him all alone, so — ?"

"Certainly, Miss Chitral," said Dumbledore, smiling. "Do tell him Merry Christmas from the rest of us too, won't you."

Chitral and Kaysa nodded and began to fill three plates with all the food they could carry then left, singing merrily.

Professor Trelawney behaved almost normally. . .

[. . .]

* * *

A/N: yeah, i know, i know.... but i had to. it was just too much fun ^_^

oh, and the Limited Pink Edition of the Hobbit is in tribute to my most awesome sister. luv u, girl!!


	8. Prisoner of Azkaban3

disclaimer: HP and it's characters are not mine, just Kaysa, Chitral, Chasta, and Shasta

* * *

The Prisoner of Azkaban

Chapter 12: The Patronus

(p. 236-243)

[. . .]

At eight o'clock on Thursday evening. . .

[. . .]

. . . had found such a good substitute for a real dementor.

At that moment, the door creaked open and two glossy black cats entered the room, mewing faintly. They both made a beeline for Lupin and rubbed around his legs.

"Are they yours?" Harry asked him, a bit surprised.

"Not really," said Lupin. "Though they do seem rather attached to me," he added with a faint smile, looking down at the cats, who were now up on their hind legs, claws sunk into his robes for balance.

Lupin bent down. "These clothes have been through quite enough already, thanks," he said to the cats as he picked up the smaller of the two and placed it on his shoulder. "I really don't need your claws in them."

As he straightened up, cradling the other in his arms, Harry saw that both had beautiful emerald green eyes.

"How do you tell them apart?" he asked Lupin.

"Oh, that's easy," Lupin told him, a bit distractedly as he tried to extricate his left hand from the claws of the cat in his arms (she had rolled onto her back and now held his hand much as she would some small prey animal; holding on with teeth and front claws, while scrabbling at him with her hind ones). "Chitral is always smaller —"

He froze, realizing what he'd said.

"It's okay," said Harry quickly. "I already know about that. Most of Gryffindor house knows, actually — or, at least, about the shape-shifter part, anyway (they wouldn't have, but Chasta and Shasta had done something stupid, forcing the girls to make some kind of explanation). Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, and Ginny and I all know about the Eyeian part, too, but I don't think anyone else does."

"Some of the teachers do," said Lupin. "Myself and Professors Snape and McGonagall included. Their kind make fierce friends, very loyal, and highly protective. Sometimes too much so," he added with a slight frown. "You can stop acting like a cat now, Kaysa," he said to the cat in his arms, who was still attacking his hand.

"But I _am_ a cat!" Kaysa reminded him impishly, continuing her assault on his hand. Lupin sighed.

"Here, hold this rascal," Lupin said, passing the cat that was Kaysa to Harry.

Harry took her. Kaysa purred and scrambled up onto his shoulder.

"So . . ." Professor Lupin had . . .

[. . .]

"Oh — yeah —" said Harry, quickly forcing his thoughts back to that first broom ride. "_Expecto patrono —_ no,_ patronum — _sorry _—"_

"It's Latin," Kaysa said from his shoulder. "_Expecto_, the verb, meaning 'I wait for' and _patronum_, the object, 'advocate' or 'protector.' So _expecto patronum_, 'I wait for, or, I call upon, my protector.'"

"Kaysa, could we have the linguistics lesson later, maybe?" said Lupin.

"Or, perhaps, never, you mean?"

"Or that."

_ "— expecto patronum, expecto patronum —_"

Something whooshed suddenly out of the end of his wand; it looked like a wisp of silvery gas.

[. . .]

"It's getting worse," Harry muttered, biting off the Frog's head. "I could hear her louder that time — and him — Voldemort —"

Lupin looked paler than usual. On his shoulder, Chitral began licking one of his ears.

"Harry, if you don't want to continue, I will more than understand —"

[. . .]

Harry suddenly realized that there were tears on his face mingling with the sweat. He bent his face as low as possible, wiping them off on his robes, pretending to do up his shoelace, so that Lupin wouldn't see.

"You heard James?" said Lupin in a strange voice.

"Yeah . . ." Face dry, Harry looked up. Kaysa was staring at him from the desk she was now lying on. Chitral was licking Lupin's ear again, but her eyes were on Harry. "Why — you didn't know my dad, did you?"

"I — I did, as a matter of fact," said Lupin, reaching a hand up and stroking Chitral's head with a finger. "We were friends at Hogwarts. Listen, Harry — . . ."

[. . .]

There was a loud crack, and Harry's cloudy Patronus vanished along with the dementor; he sank into a chair, feeling as exhausted as if he'd just run a mile, and felt his legs shaking. Kaysa hopped lightly onto his shoulder and began to lick his ears, her pink cat's tongue rasping gently against his skin. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Professor Lupin forcing the boggart back into the packing case with his wand; it had turned into a silvery orb again.

[. . .]

Harry exited the classroom, leaving an odd silence behind him.

"You could have mentioned that he and some of the others knew," Lupin said after a moment.

"Sorry," Chitral said. "I didn't think to. And, once upon a time, I wouldn't have had to," she added irritably. "There was a time when you'd've just _known_."

"That was rather a long time ago," said Lupin. "I must admit, I've fallen out of the habit of just _knowing_ stuff like that."

"Mm, and I've fallen into the habit of not telling people — namely Snape — things for my own personal amusement," Kaysa said. "And I must say, the look on your face was quite amusing."

[. . .]

The Prisoner of Azkaban

Chapter 12: The Patronus

(p. 246-248)

[. . .]

"Butterbeer!" said Harry, without thinking. "Yeah, I like that stuff!"

Lupin raised an eyebrow.

"Oh — Ron and Hermione brought me some back from Hogsmeade," Harry lied quickly.

"I see," Lupin said, though he still looked slightly suspicious. "Well — let's drink to a Gryffindor victory against Ravenclaw! Not that I'm supposed to take sides, as a teacher . . . ," he added hastily.

Kaysa and Chitral, who had been present at all of Harry's anti-dementor lessons, began to mew loudly and wind about Lupin's feet. Lupin pulled out a small saucer and poured a bit of butterbeer into it. He placed this on the desk and the two cats leapt up to lap at it, their little pink tongues flashing.

They drank the butterbeer in silence, until Harry voiced something he'd been wondering for a while.

"What's under a dementor's hood?"

Professor Lupin lowered his bottle thoughtfully. Chitral raised her head, licking her lips. Kaysa flicked her ears.

"Hmmm . . . well, the only people who really know are in no condition to tell us. You see, the dementor lowers its hood only to use its last and worse weapon."

"What's that?"

"They call it the Dementor's Kiss," said Lupin, with a slightly twisted smile. "It's what they do to those they wish to destroy utterly. I suppose there must be some kind of mouth under there, because they clamp their jaws upon the mouth of the victim and — and suck out his soul."

Harry accidentally spat out a bit of butterbeer.

"What — they kill —"

"Oh no," said Lupin. "Much worse than that. You can exist without your soul, you know, as long as your heart and brain are still working. But you'll have no sense of self anymore, no memory, no . . . anything. There's no chance of recovery. You'll just exist. As an empty shell. And your soul is gone forever . . . lost."

Lupin drank a little more butterbeer, then said, "It's the fate that awaits Sirius Black. It was in the _Daily Prophet_ this morning. The Ministry have given the dementors permission to perform it if they find him."

On the desk, Kaysa growled softly, twitching her tail with vexation. Chitral licked her friend's ears.

Harry sat stunned for a moment at the idea of someone having their soul sucked out through their mouth. But then he thought of Black.

"He deserves it," he said suddenly.

Kaysa hissed and dug her claws into the desk. Chitral lashed her tail.

"You think so?" said Lupin lightly. "Do you really think anyone deserves that?"

"Yes," said Harry defiantly. "For . . . for some things . . ."

Kaysa looked at him, then stood, shook herself, and leapt onto his shoulder. "No one deserves to be destroyed so thoroughly," she said gently, licking one of his ears. "Not for anything. It's worse than death, Harry. And not even the healing powers of all my people put together could reverse the effects. Think! What if a mistake was made? What if someone was actually innocent?"

Harry said nothing.

"Muggles have something like it, you know," said Chitral, who was now licking Lupin's ears. "The death penalty. There's a bumper sticker I saw once. It said, "Why do we kill people who kill people to show that killing people is wrong?" I think it had a fair point."

"Do you still think that Black, or anyone, for that matter, deserves it?" Kaysa asked quietly.

Harry didn't answer. He wasn't sure anymore. He would have liked to have told Lupin about the conversation he'd overheard about Black in the Three Broomsticks, about Black betraying his mother and father, but it would have involved revealing that he'd gone to Hogsmeade without permission, and he knew Lupin wouldn't be very impressed by that. So he finished his butterbeer, thanked Lupin, and left the History of Magic classroom.

[. . .]

Lupin and Chitral stared at Kaysa, who sat washing a paw. Neither one had missed what she'd said.

"Kaysa," Lupin said, "you can't possibly believe —"

"I can and will believe anything I want," Kaysa retorted. "And, before either of you jumps to conclusions, let me say this: whatever my feelings may be, I am not at all in the habit of letting emotions obscure my judgment. At least," she added quickly, "not with things like this."

"Then you still —"

"Yes, and that's not likely to change anytime soon. But I do not judge based on that; I learned not to do so the hard way many years ago," Kaysa said. She sighed, then looked at them.

"Never forget; there are always at least two sides to a story."

[. . .]


	9. Prisoner of Azkaban4

disclaimer: HP and it's characters are not mine, just Kaysa, Chitral, Chasta, and Shasta

A/N: yes, i know, it's short. i'm sorry. but the next part just has to go all together. and it should be long, so no worries

* * *

The Prisoner of Azkaban

Chapter 13: Gryffindor Versus Ravenclaw

(p. 263)

[. . .]

"That was quite some Patronus," said a voice in Harry's ear.

Harry turned around to see Professor Lupin, who looked both shaken and pleased. Kaysa and Chitral were both on his shoulders. Chitral was licking his ear, but Kaysa leapt onto Harry's shoulder, purring up a storm.

"The dementors didn't affect me at all!" Harry said excitedly. "I didn't feel a thing!"

"That would be because they — er — weren't dementors," said Professor Lupin. "Come and see—"

"It was _excellent!_" said Kaysa happily, as Lupin led Harry out of the crowd until they were able to see the edge of the field.

"You gave Mr. Malfoy quite a fright," said Lupin.

[. . .]

"Come on, Harry," said George, fighting his way over. "Party! Gryffindor common room, now!"

"Right," said Harry, and feeling happier that he had in ages, he and the rest of the team led the way, still in their scarlet robes, out of the stadium and back up to the castle.

"Go on," Professor Lupin said to Chitral and Kaysa. "Go and celebrate. I'm fine."

[. . .]

The Prisoner of Azkaban

Chapter 13: Gryffindor Versus Ravenclaw

(p. 266-267)

[. . .]

A few of the girls had come down their staircase, pulling on dressing gowns and yawning. Boys, too, were reappearing.

"Excellent, are we carrying on?" said Fred Weasley brightly.

Harry saw Kaysa and Chitral come down. They both looked quite wide awake. Kaysa froze, nose twitching. Chitral grabbed her arm.

"Everyone back upstairs!" said Percy, hurrying into the common room and pinning his Head Boy badge to his pajamas as he spoke.

[. . .]

* * *

The Prisoner of Azkaban

Chapter 14: Snape's Grudge

(p. 269)

[. . .]

No one if Gryffindor Tower slept that night. They knew that the castle was being searched again, and the whole House stayed awake in the common room, waiting to heat whether Black had been caught. Professor McGonagall came back at dawn, to tell them that he had again escaped. (Harry noticed that Kaysa, who had been extremely agitated ever since Sir Cadogan's confirmation of Black's having been in the castle, seemed almost relieved at this news.)

[. . .]

The Prisoner of Azkaban

Chapter 15: The Quidditch Final

(p. 312-313)

[. . .]

Wave upon wave of crimson supporters was pouring over the barriers onto the field. Hands were raining down on their backs. Harry had a confused impression of noise and bodies pressing in on him. Then he, and the rest of the team, were hoisted onto the shoulders of the crowd. Thrust into the light, he saw Hagrid, plastered in crimson rosettes — "Yeh beat 'em, Harry, yeh beat 'em! Wait till I tell Buckbeak!" there was Perce, jumping up and down like a maniac, all dignity forgotten. Professor McGonagall was sobbing even harder than Wood, wiping her eyes with an enormous Gryffindor flag, while Kaysa and Chitral, with Professor Lupin between them, grabbed the hands of Chasta and Shasta and they all danced about her in a circle. And there, fighting their way toward Harry, were Ron and Hermione. Words failed them. They simply beamed as Harry was borne toward the stands, where Dumbledore stood waiting with the enormous Quidditch Cup.

If only there had been a dementor around. . . . As a sobbing Wood passed Harry the Cup, as he lifted it into the air, Harry felt he could have produced the world's best Patronus.

* * *

The Prisoner of Azkaban

Chapter 16: Professor Trelawney's Prediction

(p. 318-319)

[. . .]

Flushed with his success, Harry hung around to watch Ron and Hermione. Ron did very well until he reached the hinkypunk, which successfully confused him into sinking waist-high into the quagmire. Kaysa and Chitral went next; they both also received full marks. They then proceeded to tell Lupin that it had the best test in the subject they'd ever had, and did not stop until Lupin, smiling faintly, told them that if they did not shut up, he would be forced to fail them both just so that no one could say it was favoritism. The girls seemed to find this a most amusing prospect, but did stop.

Hermione did everything perfectly until she reached the trunk with the boggart in it. After about a minute inside it, she burst out again, screaming.

"Hermione!" said Lupin, startled. "What's the matter?"

"P — P — Professor McGonagall!" Hermione gasped, pointing into the trunk. "Sh — she said I'd failed everything!"

"Oh, dear," Kaysa said, grinning. "Before we've even finished taking exams? Wow! And here was me thinking Professor McGonagall didn't like Divination!"

[. . .]

* * *

A/N: oh, the shortness!! it bothers me, truly it does. i apologize, but i will make it up to you, i promise. the next two chapters are nice and long, and they're things really start to come together and make sense out of this fic.

some reviews would be nice, too... please?

anyways, thanks for reading ^_^

~SilverKit'sFire


	10. Prisoner of Azkaban5

disclaimer: HP and it's characters are not mine, just Kaysa, Chitral, Chasta, and Shasta

* * *

The Prisoner of Azkaban

Chapter 17: Cat, Rat, and Dog

(p. 345)

[. . .]

"Not at all up to your usual standard, Hermione," he said. "Only one out of three, I'm afraid. I have not been helping Sirius into the castle, and I certainly don't want Harry dead. . . ." An odd shiver passed over his face. "But I won't deny that I am a werewolf."

"And human to boot," said a voice making them all jump.

Looking round, Harry saw Kaysa and Chitral standing in the doorway. It was Chitral who had spoken, she was staring at Lupin with a very intense expression. Chitral crossed to him, as she did, her image blurred and she changed. By the time she stood in front of him, she was no longer a girl of thirteen, but looked for all the world as if she were a full grown adult, about Lupin's own age.

Chitral stared up at Lupin, who swallowed; he looked very apprehensive.

"When _are_ you going to start remembering that on your own?" she asked, sounding irritable, though the look in her eyes was anything but.

Lupin opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Chitral had wrapped her arms around him and, standing on tiptoe, kissed him very soundly on the lips.

Harry stared. Of all the things that had happened so far, this was perhaps the most unlikely and the most unbelievable of all. He looked over at Kaysa, hoping that she, at least, would be behaving properly.

But Kaysa had a talent for out-weirding everybody else. She started towards Black — who was staring and staring at her — undergoing the same change as Chitral had, becoming an adult. Then, suddenly, she leaped at him. For one wild moment, Harry thought she would attack Black, but then Black held out his arms, caught her up in a tight embrace, and swung her around.

"Hello, BrightEyes," he said, placing her on her feet once more. "Have you missed me?"

"Yes I have, you horrible fiend, you!" Kaysa said, hugging Black close, then pulling back to stare accusingly at him (she did not have to stare up at him, they were the same height). "All those times you were in the castle, all those times you came to the Quidditch field, and you never once managed to come and see me? Or even say hi?!" She blinked, her eyes falling upon the injuries on his face. "Oh my! Remus, what did you do?" she asked, looking over at Lupin as she reached up and trailed her fingers over Black's face, leaving a trail of sparkling green magic in their wake as she healed him.

"It was Harry, Kays," said Black, "not Remus."

"Oh," said Kaysa. "Sorry, Remus." Then she looked over at Harry. "Well, I guess I can't blame you, Harry."

"Oh, no!" Hermione moaned. "Not you, too!"

"Of course, us too," said Kaysa. "We were all in school together. How else would we know Remus? Er — Sirius, mate, who ran the beauty parlor in that place? Only, I think you might want to sue them. You look awful."

"Thanks, Kays," Black said, laughing a little.

"Kaysa, how can you still be his friend?" Chitral had let go of Lupin. She stared at Kaysa disbelievingly, then she looked at Black. "He's the reason their dead! Lily and James are dead because of him!" she snarled, cold fury in her voice.

Kaysa growled, baring her teeth. Lupin grabbed Chitral by the arm. "Wait," he said. "I think she's been right all along."

"Whoa," Chitral said, looking round to stare at Lupin. "Did I miss something?" There was a silence in which some very rapid mental communication must have taken place because Chitral's eyes went wide and she said, "Oh . . . oh, Sirius — I'm so sorry."

On the bed, Ron made a valiant effort to get up again but fell back with a whimper of pain. Lupin made toward him, looking concerned, but Ron gasped,

_"Get away from me, werewolf !"_

Chitral hissed softly. Lupin stopped dead. Then, with an obvious effort, he turned to Hermione and said, "How long have you known?"

"Ages," Hermione whispered. "Since I did Professor Snape's essay. . . ."

[. . .]

"AND HE WAS WRONG!" Harry yelled. "YOU'VE BEEN HELPING HIM ALL THE TIME!" He was pointing at Black, who suddenly crossed to the four-poster bed and sank onto it, his face hidden in one shaking hand. Crookshanks leapt up beside him and stepped onto his lap, purring. Ron edged away from both of them, dragging his leg. Kaysa looked reproachfully at Ron, then sat down beside Black and put her arm around his shoulders.

[. . .]

Ron hesitated, then put a hand inside his robes. Scabbers emerged, thrashing desperately; Ron had to seize his long bald tail to stop him escaping. Crookshanks stood up on Black's leg and made a soft hissing noise, echoed seconds later by Kaysa.

Chitral let out a low whistle and said, "Oh my word. . . ."

Lupin moved closer to Ron. He seemed to be holding his breath as he gazed intently at Scabbers.

[. . .]

* * *

The Prisoner of Azkaban

Chapter 18: Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs

(p. 352-357)

Lupin broke off. There had been a loud creak behind him. The bedroom door had opened of its own accord. All seven of them stared at it. Kaysa's nose twitched and her eyes narrowed, she exchanged a look with Chitral. Then Lupin strode toward the door and looked out into the landing.

[. . .]

He looked sober and tired. Chitral shifted to cat shape and leapt up onto his shoulder, rubbing her head against his cheek and purring softly. Ron started to interrupt, but Hermione said, "Shh!" She was watching Lupin very intently.

[. . .]

"But then Dumbledore became Headmaster, and he was sympathetic. He said that as long as we took certain precautions, there was no reason I shouldn't come to school. . . ." Lupin sighed, and looked directly at Harry. "I told you months ago that the Whomping Willow was planted the year I came to Hogwarts. The truth is that it was planted _because_ I came to Hogwarts. This house" — Lupin looked miserably around the room, Chitral gave one of his ears a swipe with her tongue, — "the tunnel that leads to it — they were built for my use. Once a month I was smuggled out of the castle, into this place, to transform. The tree was placed at the tunnel mouth to stop anyone coming across me while I was dangerous."

Harry couldn't see where this story was going, but he was listening raptly all the same. The only sound apart from Lupin's voice was Scabber's frightened squeaking.

"My transformations in those days were — were terrible." On Lupin's shoulder, Chitral began to lick his ears again, which suggested to Harry that this was not at all easy for the Professor. "It is very painful to turn into a werewolf," Lupin continued. "I was separated from humans to bite, so I bit and scratched myself instead. The villagers heard the noise and the screaming and thought they were hearing particularly violent spirits. Dumbledore encouraged the rumor. . . . Even now, when the house has been silent for years, the villagers don't dare approach it. . . .

"But apart from my transformations, I was happier than I had ever been in my life. For the first time ever, I had friends, three great friends. Sirius Black . . . Peter Pettigrew . . . and, of course, you father, Harry — James Potter."

"Excuse me!" Chitral said indignantly. "There were five of us, thanks very much."

"Yes, you girls, too," Lupin said, smiling and stroking Chitral's fur placatingly. "But you two come into it later.

[. . .]

Lupin's face hardened, and there was self-disgust in his voice. Chitral's tail curled around his neck as she continued her licking of his ears. . . .

[. . .]

Black made a derisive noise.

"It served him right," he sneered. "Sneaking around, trying to find out what we were up to . . . hoping he could get us expelled. . . ."

"Besides, we weren't trying to kill him," Kaysa said suddenly.

"You knew?" asked Lupin.

"Of course I knew. I had to, or you would have killed him. We didn't want him dead. We just wanted him to — er — share your pain, so to speak. . . ." She trailed of, looking apologetically at Lupin.

"Kaysa! How could you?" Chitral demanded. "How could you even think of using a friend like that?"

"Because by the time I found out, it was too late to stop Snape going," Kaysa snapped. "It wasn't like it was my idea."

"Yeah, Snape lucked out," said Black. "Kaysa wouldn't let me kill him."

"You were too young to understand what you would be doing," Kaysa said, looking at Black with a kind of fond reminiscence. "You couldn't even begin to imagine what it would be like to have the death of another human being on your shoulders, even if it was a human being you hated as much as him."

"What do you mean I was too young? You were the exact same age!" Black said, rather indignantly.

"Yes," Kaysa admitted. "But as a healer, death is something I understand far better than most. My people are taught about that kind of stuff before we ever leave the Homeworld. Besides, anyone who has ever hunted knows about death and killing. You feel bad enough the first time, even though you know it is part of life and that you must eat. It follows logically that killing for no other purpose than killing would be a very heavy weight indeed."

Black sighed, "You're probably right, as usual."

Lupin looked hard at Kaysa for a moment, turned to Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "Severus was very interested in where I went every month," he told them. "We were in the same year, you know, and we — er — didn't like each other very much."

"Oh, now there's an understatement if ever I heard one," said Chitral and Kaysa together. Black and Lupin both smiled.

"He especially didn't like James," said Lupin. "Jealous, I think, of James's talent on the Quidditch field . . . anyway, Snape had seen me crossing the grounds with Madame Pomfrey one evening as she led me towards the Whomping Willow to transform. Sirius thought it would be — er — amusing, to tell Snape that all he had to do was prod the knot on the tree trunk with a long stick, and he'd be able to get in after me. Well, of course, Snape tried it — if he'd gotten as far as this house, he'd have met a fully grown werewolf — but your father, who'd heard what Sirius had done, went after Snape and pulled him back, at great risk to his owm life . . . Snape glimpsed me, though, at the end of the tunnel. He was forbidden by Dumbledore to tell anybody, but from that time on he knew what I was. . . ."

[. . .]

* * *

The Prisoner of Azkaban

Chapter 19: The Servant of Lord Voldemort

(p. 358-377)

Hermione screamed. Black leaped to his feet; Kaysa followed suit, and stepped protectively in front of him. Harry felt as though he'd received a huge electric shock. Chitral muttered, "Shit!"

[. . .]

"You fool," said Lupin softly. "Is a shcoolboy grudge worth putting an innocent man back in Azkaban?"

BANG! Thin, snakelike cords burst from the end of Snape's wand and twisted themselves around Lupin's mouth, wrists, and ankles; he overbalanced and fell to the floor, unable to move. With a roar of rage, Black started towards Snape, but Snape pointed his wand straight between Black's eyes.

"Give me a reason," he whispered. "Give me a reason to do it, and I swear I will."

Black stopped dead. It would have been impossible to tell which face showed more hatred.

"Apparently it is worth it," said Kaysa dryly.

Snape's attention snapped to her, a cold look in his eyes. Kaysa's own eyes narrowed.

"Why do you care?" she asked in a soft, puzzled tone. "When have you ever cared? Why should it bother you?"

Snape said nothing.

Harry stood there, paralyzed, not knowing what to do or whom to believe. . . .

[. . .]

Harry looked around. Both Ron and Hermione had tried to disarm Snape at exactly the same moment. Kaysa and Chitral, too, by the looks of it. Snape's wand soared in a high arc and landed on the bed next to Crookshanks.

"You shouldn't have done that," said Black, looking at Harry. "You should have left him to me. . . ."

Harry avoided Black's eyes. He wasn't sure, even now, that he'd done the right thing.

"We attacked a teacher. . . . We attacked a teacher. . . ." Hermione whimpered, staring at the lifeless Snape with frightened eyes. "Oh, we're going to be in so much trouble —"

"He'll live," said Kaysa, walking over to Snape and placing a hand on his forehead.

Lupin was struggling against his bonds. Black bent down quickly and untied him, aided by Chitral. Lupin straightened up, rubbing his arms where the ropes had cut into them. Chitral trailed her fingers over them.

"Better?" she asked him.

"Yes, much," he told her, then, "Thank you, Harry," he said.

"I'm still not saying I believe you," he told Lupin.

"Then it's time we offered you some proof," said Lupin. "You, boy — give me Peter, please. Now."

"Hold on," Kaysa said from over where she was examining Snape. "Chitral, I need you to give that back to him."

"Why?" Chitral said. "He deserves it. And, besides, I can't see him having any use for it."

"Maybe not," Kaysa said firmly. "But _I _need him to have that bit of anatomy."

"What on earth for?" Chitral asked looking flabbergasted.

"Surely you don't have any use for its intended purpose?" said Black, his eyebrows raised.

"You have a sick mind," Kaysa informed him. "You do know that, don't you? No, I need him to have that so that I can be sure it will _really_ count when I kick him after all this is finished."

"Oh, alright," Chitral said. "But, for the record, I'm only doing this because you're making me." She glowered at the prone figure of Snape for a moment and his body glowed green briefly.

"Thank you," Kaysa said. "Now give us Peter," she added looking at Ron.

[. . .]

"THAT'S NOT TRUE!" Harry yelled. "HE WAS THEIR SECRET-KEEPER! HE SAID SO BEFORE YOU TURNED UP. HE SAID HE KILLED THEM!"

He was pointing at Black, who shook his head slowly; the sunken eyes were suddenly overbright.

"You said that?" Kaysa asked, incredulous. "Oh, Sirius, you are such a hopeless idiot sometimes."

"Harry . . . I as good as killed them," Black croaked. "I persuaded Lily and James to change to Peter at the last moment, persuaded them to use him as Secret-Keeper instead of me. . . . I'm to blame, I know it. . . . The night they died, I'd arranged to check on Peter, make sure he was still safe, but when I arrived at his hiding place, he'd gone. Yet there was no sign of a struggle. It didn't feel right. I was scared. I set out for your parents' house straight away. And when I saw their house, destroyed, and their bodies . . . I realized what Peter must have done . . . what I'd done. . . ."

His voice broke. He turned away and stepped toward Kaysa, into the circle of her arms. Kaysa held Black close to her, glaring over his shoulder at everyone in general, and at Lupin in particular.

"Enough of this," Lupin said, and there was a steely note in his voice . . .

[. . .]

Ron hesitated. Then, at long last, he held out Scabbers and Lupin took him. Scabbers began to squeak without stopping, twisting and turning, his tiny black eyes bulging in his head.

Kaysa and Chitral traded looks then both shifted into what was most definitely the most unusual shape Harry had ever seen either of them take. It was like looking at a cat that had started to turn into a human but hadn't quite finished, or perhaps it was the other way around. Both girls were still standing upright, as humans do, but they were also very feline in appearance; their heads were mostly feline, with pointed muzzles, and sharp feline teeth. Swivelling, triangular ears perched on top of their heads, and their emerald green eyes were those of a cat, slit-pupiled and showing no white around the irises. Their hands had claws instead of fingernails, and their feet seemed to be not so much feet as hind paws. Their faces and bodies were covered in a light dusting of coppery fur and Harry notices that there was evidence of whiskers, too.

Harry stared.

_Demi-form,_ Kaysa sent to him silently.

_Wow!_ he sent back.

"Ready, Sirius?" said Lupin.

[. . .]

"Er — Mr. Black — Sirius?" said Hermione.

Black jumped at being addressed like this and stared at Hermione as though he'd never seen anything quite like her. Kaysa sniggered.

[. . .]

". . . and I had no hope of driving them away from me without a wand. . . ."

He paused, looked sideways at Kaysa. She hesitated, then shrugged.

"I suppose they might as well know everything," she said quietly.

"Then, one night — it must have been about three of four years ago — I had a visitor. _In_ my cell."

"Oh, Kaysa, you didn't," Chitral breathed.

"She did," said Black. "I thought I was finally going mad, that I'd been kept in solitude for too long. Because I couldn't find you. With my mind, I mean. Though, I must admit, I wasn't really thinking straight then, or I'd probably have realized that if I had been able to, the dementors most certainly would've as well?"

Kaysa nodded, confirming this guess.

"That's why we're here, isn't it?" Chitral said suddenly, looking at Black. "You asked her to come here. It must have been the only way to get her to leave. I know you, Kaysa, you wouldn't leave any of your friends alone in that place without a really good reason."

"Too right, I wouldn't," Kaysa muttered darkly as Black nodded.

"I knew she would never leave me willingly," he said. "But I knew, by then, that Fudge inspected Azkaban every now and again, though it was impossible to make out a pattern; you can't really keep track of time in there. Anyway, I knew the kind of trouble we'd be in if Kaysa were caught in with me, so I asked her to keep an eye on Harry for me." Catching the look on Kaysa face, he added quickly, "It wasn't a false request. I really did feel better knowing someone was watching out for him. Someone who knew about — who knew the truth and would be looking out for Peter, though I had no idea where he was at the time.

"But then I saw Peter in that picture . . . I realized he was at Hogwarts with Harry . . . perfectly positioned to act, if one hint reached his ears that the Dark Side was gathering strength again. . . ."

Pettigrew was shaking his head, mouthing noiselessly, but staring all the while at Black as thoug hypnotized.

". . . ready to strike at the moment he could be sure of allies . . . and to deliver the last Potter to them. If he killed Harry, who'd dare say he'd betrayed Lord Voldemort? He'd be welcomed back with honors. . . .

"So you see, I had to do something. I was the only one who knew Peter was still alive. . . . At least, the only one who knew and could do something about it," he added, somewhat apologetically to Kaysa.

[. . .]

"You don't understand!" whined Pettigrew.

"You're right, Peter," said Kaysa in a very odd voice. "We _don't _understand."

Pettigrew turned a half hopeful, half terrified face towards her.

"I suspect," Kaysa continued, "that we will never understand. How can we, when we all would have died rather than turn traitor? I can never forget what you did, and if I can ever forgive you, it will be a miracle."

Harry blinked at the formal sounding speech — he'd never heard anyone talk like that before. It was decidedly odd.

"Damn straight," Chitral snarled, baring her feline teeth, but she fell silent at a look from Kaysa.

"And yet . . . I will miss you, Peter. I will miss you for the friend you once were. We used to have a lot of fun, I will never forget all the good times we had, but those are in the past. Just as James and Lily are now in the past. And that part is you fault, Peter."

"He would have killed me!" Pettigrew whimpered.

"THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED!" roared Black. "DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!"

"You see, Peter," Kaysa said, almost gently, a kind of sadness in her voice. "You may have thought it was just Lily and James you were selling out, but in giving them to Voldemort, you betrayed us all."

Black and Lupin stood shoulder to shoulder, wands raised.

"You should have realized," Lupin said quietly, "that if Voldemort didn't kill you, we would. Good-bye, Peter."

[. . .]

"There's nothing seriously wrong with him," said Lupin, bending over Snape and checking his pulse.

"Not anymore, anyway," Kaysa interjected, shooting a look at Chitral.

[. . .]


	11. Prisoner of Azkaban6

disclaimer: HP and it's characters are not mine, just Kaysa, Chitral, Chasta, and Shasta

* * *

The Prisoner of Azkaban

Chapter 20: The Dementor's Kiss

(p. 378-385)

Harry had never been part of a stranger group. Crookshanks led the way down the stairs; Lupin, Pettigrew, and Ron went next, looking like entrants in a six-legged race. Next came Professor Snape, drifting creepily along, his toes hitting each stair as they descended, held up by his own wand, which was being pointed at him by Sirius. Harry and Hermione brought up the rear. Kaysa and Chitral kept to no particular place in the procession but instead made the rounds, keeping an eye on everybody.

[. . .]

Black's gaunt face broke into the first true smile Harry had seen upon it. The difference it made was startling, as though a person ten years younger were shining through the starved mask; for a moment, he was recognizable as the man who had laughed at Harry's parents' wedding.

Harry suddenly noticed Kaysa watching; she was biting her lip and the look in her eyes, Harry decided, classified as extremely dreamy. It was a sad kind of dreamy, but dreamy all the same.

_What exactly are you two, anyway?_ he asked her on a private channel. He was remembering that twice that night Black had ended up in her arms — three times if you counted the initial hug.

_We're friends, Harry. That's all, _she sent back. _Admittedly, I _do_ wish we were something more, but Sirius hasn't got a clue. Everyone else knows, of course, even Snape. But — well, it's like I said, he really is a hopeless idiot sometimes. Not to mention completely clueless._

[. . .]

As the werewolf reared, snapping its long jaws, Sirius disappeared from Harry's side. He had transformed, as had Kaysa and Chitral. . . .

[. . .]

There was a howl and a rumbling growl; Harry turned to see the werewolf taking flight; it was galloping into the forest, a lioness Harry was sure was Chitral hot on its heels —

[. . .]

But then, from beyond the range of vision, they heard a yelping, a whining, and a very loud and clearly furious roaring: a dog in pain with a lioness protectress. . . .

[. . .]

The yelping stopped abruptly. As they reached the lakeshore, they saw why — Sirius had turned back into a man. He was crouched on all fours, his hands over his head. Kaysa was in demi-form again, growling ferociously, her body curled protectively over Sirius's.

[. . .]

* * *

The Prisoner of Azkaban

Chapter 21: Hermione's Secret

(p. 386-415)

[. . .]

"I'm not distressed, I'm trying to tell them what happened!" Harry said furiously. "If they'd just listen —"

But Madame Pomfrey suddenly stuffed a large chunk of chocolate into Harry's mouth; he choked, and she seized the opportunity to force him back onto the bed.

"Minister," Kaysa said quickly, "I can't be confunded, you know I can't. I swear to you they are telling the truth. Peter Pettigrew is an unregistered Animagus. He could turn into a rat. You said yourself, when the street was blasted apart, it went so deep that the sewer was cracked; Peter blasted the street like that on purpose; so he could have a place to go. Rats can live just fine in sewers. He cut off that finger you found, so people would think he was dead. . . ."

Fudge was looking puzzled. He stared at Kaysa.

"But, my dear, it just makes no sense —"

"Yes it does. He was the Secret-Keeper, not Sirius. Only, since Voldemort met his downfall on Peter's information, Voldemort's supporters would be after him too, as well as our side if we ever found out what he did. It makes perfect sense. He had to 'die' to save his own skin."

For one moment, Harry thought Kaysa might have actually done it. Fudge would be convinced. But then Snape, who'd been watching Fudge and Kaysa very carefully, spoke.

"Minister," he said silkily, "I think I might have some light to shed here. Miss Kaysa, it is true, can not be confunded by any spell know to wizard-kind, but emotionally I expect her people are just as vulnerable as any human. You see, she is in love with the criminal, Black."

Kaysa's face froze. Fudge's eyes widened.

"Is this true?" Fudge asked her.

"It's irrelevant," Kaysa said irritably.

"My dear lady, I'm very much afraid that it isn't. Is it true? Do you love him?"

Kaysa didn't say anything, but her silence seemed to be answer enough.

"Oh, dear —" Fudge began, but Kaysa cut him off.

"Don't you start oh, dear-ing me," she snarled. "I've had more than enough of that from you already this year."

Then she rounded on Snape. There was a resounding SMACK! as Kaysa slapped him across the face so hard that the spot showed white for a moment before turning an angry red.

"You!" she shouted at Snape. "You promised! You gave me your word!"

"What?" said Fudge, bewildered.

"Oh, keep out of it, you," Kaysa snarled at him. Then she turned back to Snape.

"You are so lucky," she told him, her voice so soft and deadly that Harry's hair stood on end. "You are so very, _very_ lucky just now. The rules that bind me, the same ones that kept me from doing anything all year; they are the only things keeping you alive right now, because, believe me, the thought of tearing you into about a million bloody shreds is _soo_ tempting. How fortunate for you that I must be a bit more creative in my revenge.

"Now," she said, speaking to the room at large, "since promises do not seem to hold much worth among certain people here, I am binding you all to silence. You may try to speak of certain things, by all means, please do try. But you may find yourselves unable to do so. And, be warned, it _will_ hurt. Now, if you — gentlemen — will excuse me, there's a man upstairs who needs me."

She started to walk out the door, but paused and turned back, looking at Snape.

"Chitral took something that belonged to you, you know," she said. "But I made her give it back."

"Am I supposed to be grateful, or something?" Snape asked, sneering.

"That's entirely up to you," Kaysa said flatly. "But do not flatter yourself that I did it for your sake. I will be the first to admit that I did it for my own. You see, I wanted to make sure that you would really, _really_ feel it when I did this!" And she stepped forward, grabbed Snape's shoulders, and rammed her knee into his groin so hard that if she had not been holding him up, he probably would have fallen over.

As Snape doubled over in pain, his face ashen, Kaysa turned to the Minister. "If you truly intend to have the dementors do that to Sirius, by all means go ahead and try. But I won't go down without a fight."

And with that, Kaysa stalked from the Hospital wing.

"What on earth did she mean by that?" said Fudge, looking flabbergasted.

"I expect," said Snape, his voice tight with pain, "that she will die before she lets a dementor kiss him. She'd probably kill him, too. Her people believe in mercy killing. She'd rather see him dead than soulless and beyond recovery."

"Now, please," Madame Pomfrey said. . . .

[. . .]

. . . His head drooped sadly.

About a minute later, Kaysa and Chitral came striding along, making their way speedily towards the Willow. But halfway there, Kaysa suddenly stopped.

"Do you feel what I feel?" she asked Chitral.

Chitral paused. "Yeah," she said, "there's been a warp in time — again." She sniffed, her head turned in Harry and Hermione's direction. "Playing with it, this time," she added.

"Amateurs," Kaysa mused. "I think a word of advice is in order."

"Kaysa —" Chitral began.

"There's no harm in it," Kaysa said, interrupting. "Listen up, time-travelers. If you seek to meddle in time, remember this: you may change things, but only those things to which you have not already borne witness, otherwise, you'll be in a world of trouble."

She turned back to Chitral. "Okay, let's go."

Barely two minutes later, the castle doors flew open yet again, and Snape came charging out of them, running toward the Willow.

[. . .]

Black looked up. Harry saw his jaw drop. He leapt from his chair, with Kaysa in his wake, hurried over to the window and tried to open it, but it was locked.

"Stand back!" Hermione called to him, and she took out her wand, still gripping the back of Harry's robes with her left hand.

_"Alohamora!"_

The window sprang open.

"How — how — ?" said Black weakly, staring at the hippogriff.

"Get on — there's not much time," said Harry, gripping Buckbeak firmly on either side of his sleek neck to hold him steady. "You've got to get out of here — the dementors are coming — Macnair's gone to get them."

Black turned to Kaysa. "Ladies first," he said.

Kaysa bit her lip. "Sirius, I can't."

"You're — you're not coming?"

"I can't. I have to stay here," Kaysa said, her voice trembling slightly. "If I go now, they'll think I helped you escape, and I'm not allowed to interfere. I'll end up stuck back on the Homeworld faster than you can blink."

They stared at each other for a long moment. Harry was beginning to think he'd have to say something, but then Kaysa suddenly pulled Black into a tight hug and drew away.

"Go, now — quick," she said.

Black placed a hand on either side of the window frame and heaved his head and shoulders out of it. It was very lucky he was so thin. In seconds, he had managed to fling one leg over Buckbeak's back and pull himself onto the hippogriff behind Hermione.

Kaysa leaned out of the window, she and Black clasped hands for a brief moment then Kaysa said, "Go! I will see you again, I promise, just go!"

Black nodded, his eyes never leaving her face.

"Okay, Buckbeak, up!" said Harry, shaking the rope. "Up to the tower — come on!"

[. . .]

* * *

The Prisoner of Azkaban

Chapter 22: Owl Post Again

(p. 420)

"Fellow seems quite unbalanced," said Fudge, staring after him. "I'd watch out for him, if I were you, Dumbledore."

"Oh, he's not unbalanced," said Dumbledore quietly. "At least, not mentally," he added as a loud crashing noise and a yelp of pain reached their ears. "And usually not physically, either." Dumbledore's blue eyes flickered to Kaysa, who had just entered, wearing an expression of such extreme innocence, that Harry immediately wondered just what she'd done to make Snape fall. "He's just suffered a severe disappointment."

[. . .]

The Prisoner of Azkaban

Chapter 22: Owl Post Again

(p. 425)

[. . .]

There was a knock on the door. Harry hastily stuffed the Marauder's Map and the Invisibility Cloak into his pocket.

It was Professor Dumbledore and Kaysa, who looked thirteen again. Neither one of them looked surprised to see Harry there.

"Your carriage is at the gates, Remus," he (Dumbledore) said.

"Thank you, Headmaster. Kaysa —" Lupin held out his hand to her.

Kaysa looked at it, and raised her eyebrows at Lupin. Then she sighed, and shook her head.

"Moron," she told him softly, stepping forward to hug Lupin very tightly. "I want a proper good-bye, you know."

Lupin smiled and hugged her back.

"Where's —"

"— Chitral? Oh, she's waiting by the carriage for you — wanted to say farewell in private, I think. No worries, though," she added, seeing Lupin's alarmed look. "I'm sure it's nothing _too_ elaborate. I think she just wants to sure you remember what we keep telling you — wolf or not, _were_ or not, you're still human." She reached up to stroke his face, then stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. Lupin swallowed.

"I'll see you this summer, okay?"

"Really?" Lupin asked, brows raised.

"Yes!" Kaysa said defiantly. "Well, alright, more Chitral than me, but I'll come visit before I go gallivanting off. I promise!" She hugged him again.

"I'd better go now," she said, smiling ruefully. "Chasta and Shasta are plotting something dreadful. . . ." and with that, she left.

Lupin picked up his old suitcase and the empty grindylow tank.

"Well — good-bye, Harry," he said, smiling. "It has been a real pleasure teaching you. I feel sure we'll meet again sometime. Headmaster, there is no need to see me to the gates, I can manage . . ."

Harry had the impression theat Lupin wanted to leave as quickly as possible.

"Good-bye, then, Remus," said Dumbledore soberly. He hesitated then added, "They're right, you know." Lupin shifted the grindylow tank slightly so that he and Dumbledore could shake hands.

"Yes, I know," he replied quietly. "I just don't always remember on my own yet." Then with a final nod to Harry and a swift smile, Lupin left the office.

[. . .]

Chitral (in adult form) was indeed waiting for him. As soon as she saw him she smiled and relieved him of the grindylow tank. Together they put his things into the carriage, then stood facing each other, rather awkwardly.

"I'll see you this summer, right?"

"Yes," Chitral said, stepping closer.

"Er —" Lupin said as she wrapped her arms about his neck. "Chitral . . ." But Chitral put her finger to his lips.

"I know," she said, then grinned. "Freedom of expression, Remus."

He sighed, but supposed she was right. Making up his mind, he stood still, and when her lips met his, he kissed back, for the first time ever.

He _did_ love her — not the way she wanted him to — but it was love all the same. So he put into the kiss all the ways he did love her, all the little things about her that drove him crazy and yet he wouldn't have any other way, like her habit of dropping those little comments which often only he picked up on and which never failed to turn him red, or the way, as a cat, she always gave him away by licking his ears whenever he was upset or worried . . .

He could feel her doing the same; pouring all the ways she loved him into the kiss and into his mind, like a package he could tuck away in his head, and pull out to look at whenever he wanted to.

She pulled back eventually and smiled at him as he stepped into the carriage and rode off; Chitral waved until she could no longer see the carriage.

As he rode home, Lupin began to examine that package in his mind, shifting slowly through all the ways she loved him. Most of them didn't surprise him much, but one —

Lupin stopped dead in his [mental] tracks. It couldn't possibly be, he must have made a mistake, but —

He looked again. And again. Nothing changed. But how could it be? He had expected it to be in spite of — he would have _understood_ in spite of —

But it wasn't in spite of.

She loved him _because _he was a werewolf?!

Lupin puzzled on _that _the rest of the way home, and then long into the night.

[. . .]

The Prisoner of Azkaban

Chapter 22: Owl Post Again

(p. 434)

[. . .]

"That's good enough for me," said Ron happily. "He's mine."

"Er — Harry — is — is there anything _else_ in there?" Kaysa asked tentatively.

"I don't think so," said Harry.

"Let me check," said Hermione, and she took the envelope and peered inside. "Yes, there is, but — well —" and she held out a piece of paper about the size of a thumbnail, which Kaysa took.

"Bum!" she proclaimed, a moment later. "What the _blazes_ did he fold it up so small for?"

Chitral grinned. Kaysa began to unfold the paper. It took a while, but finally she held a very creased note no bigger than her palm. Kaysa stared at it for a second, then burst out laughing. She handed the note to Chitral, who read it and then passed it to Harry just before she collapsed in a fit of giggles.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione put their heads together to read.

_School's out! Summer holidays are in! You know what that means:_

_Olympic World-Wide Hide-and-Seek Championships!_

_Padfoot vs BrightEyes_

_Round 1_

_DING!_

Harry looked over at Kaysa.

"Well?" he said. "Aren't you going to go find him?"

"Of course," she replied. "But I promised Remus I'd pop in to say hello before I went after Sirius. And besides," she grinned, "it _is_ Hide-and-Seek. I _do_ have to _count_, you know."

Everyone laughed.

[. . .]

* * *

end book 3. hope you liked it. see, i told you things would make more sense later ^_^ eventually i do plan on writing their school years together, but for now this is all i've had time to do.

right; up next: a special bonus chapter, some summer adventures, and then book 4.

also, i really hate to beg, but now that i'm this far into the story - and, you know, it's started to make sense to the rest of you (i hope) - some reviews would be really nice.... please?

anyway, hope you're enjoying so far!

~SilverKit'sFire


	12. Prisoner of Azkaban Special Bonus Chap

disclaimer: HP and it's characters are not mine, just Kaysa, Chitral, Chasta, and Shasta

A/N: okay, while i work on the summer stuff and book 4 have a bonus chapter; it's from earlier in the Prisoner of Azkaban, but i couldn't post it in order because then it would give things away. but now that Kaysa and Chitral's history has been revealed, you can read this ^_^

Prisoner of Azkaban - Special Bonus Chapter for You!  
enjoy!

~SilverKit'sFire

* * *

The Prisoner of Azkaban

Chapter 14: Snape's Grudge

(p. 290)

[. . .]

"'Abnormally large nose,'" Kaysa quoted when she and Chitral had caught up to Lupin. "Now there's a side we don't see much anymore," and she elbowed Lupin playfully in the ribs.

"And 'ugly git?'" Chitral added, giggling. "Oh, so good!"

"'Slimeball,'" Lupin murmured, smiling slightly, unable to help himself.

"And what about Padfoot's, eh?" said Kaysa snorting with laughter. "Isn't it just like him?"

"Kaysa," Lupin said warningly.

"What?" she said. "He's allowed to have a sense of humor, isn't he?"

"Would that be the same sense of humor he showed when they took him to Azkaban?" asked Chitral harshly, voicing Lupin's thought.

"They had no right to do that," Kaysa snapped angrily. "They didn't even give him a trial! I was there, I know."

"Fat lot of good it did," Chitral muttered.

"Oh, and fat lot of good you lot did," Kaysa retorted. "You weren't even there! He's one of us! You couldn't even manage to care if he got proper justice, let alone even think to turn up!"

"Kaysa, he betrayed —" Lupin started to say, but Kaysa cut him off nearly shouting.

"He was the best friend I ever had, _you f—_"

She stopped, gasped quietly and clapped both hands over her mouth, staring at Chitral, whose face had gone white.

"Chitral — I don't — I didn't —" she stopped again then let out a small of scream of frustration, turned and fled down the hall.

"Any idea what she was about to say?" Lupin asked Chitral.

"Faithless," Chitral breathed, looking absolutely stricken. She turned and buried her face in the front of Lupin's robes. "She was about to call us faithless."

"Well," he said bracingly, his arms wrapping around her automatically, "it could have been worse." But Chitral shook her head.

"You're thinking like a human," she told him. "I'd rather be a fucking _anything_ than a faithless nothing."

Lupin frowned, then remembered; in Eyian society, there was a collective nursery in which all the pride's cubs were taken care of. Those born in the same year formed a close bond rather like that of siblings, except much stronger in ways. Littermates, as Kaysa and Chitral called them, were expected to always be there for each other, to never judge each other for showing emotions, and to always, _always_, keep faith with each other. To be a traitor to your littermates was probably the worst crime you could commit — with the rare exception of where it was a matter of health. To be called 'faithless' was the worst possible insult. Realizing that Kaysa's anger had nearly driven her to label him and Chitral as such, Lupin swallowed.

"Should we see if we can find her?" he asked Chitral.

"No," she replied, sniffing quietly. "That would be like admitting she's right. And she's not . . . is she?"

Lupin heard the note of uncertainty in Chitral's voice.

"No," he told her. "How can she be? He broke faith with us first."

"Yes," said Chitral slowly. "Yes, I suppose . . . you don't think she might . . . ? No, no, she can't be, can she?"

"Can she what?"

"Well, it's just — well it doesn't make sense, really," said Chitral. "It just doesn't fit. Kaysa was always the one who took that stuff most seriously, even among our people. I can't understand her sticking up for someone who betrayed us. But she can't be right. He was the only one it could have been. He was Secret-Keeper. No one else was there. Except Kaysa. She told me. She told me it was him. She would have said if the plan had changed. And I would know if they'd used her. Which they couldn't have done because it would be interference and therefore illegal, and besides, she would have said. She would've."

"Yes, I'm sure she would have," said Lupin, who knew full well that for all there had been suspicions among the group, Kaysa and Chitral had never stopped trusting each other. He frowned slightly; Chitral was right. It was odd that Kaysa should stick up for one who had betrayed them all so thoroughly and completely, but . . . .

A sudden screeching noise made them both jump.

"What —?" Lupin began, but Chitral was already racing down the hallway. He followed her at a sprint. Chitral was fast and had enough of a head start on him that he couldn't actually catch up to her, but he could keep up well enough to follow. Rounding a corner, he nearly flattened Chitral, who had stopped suddenly. She put a finger to her lips when he opened his mouth, then pointed down the hall to an open door. Beckoning him to follow, she moved silently to the side of the door. They peered around the frame and saw a startling scene.

A little man with curly-toed shoes and a bell bedecked hat was being herded towards one of the cabinets by what looked like a very small dragon. It was about a foot long, slender and graceful, with whirling green eyes, gleaming coppery-red scales and delicate looking leathery wings. When they reached the cabinets the little creature flew around and placed a forepaw on one of the knobs. To open the cabinets, the knob needed to be turned and the tiny dragon's claws couldn't manage the task. Peeves, the poltergeist, grinned as understanding bloomed. Gleefully he began opening the cabinets. As he did so, the dragon-like creature flew in and out of them carrying out inkbottles and quills and all sorts of things and proceeded to make an enormous mess. Peeves, having finished opening the cabinets, started to help the little creature in her quest to wreak havoc and mayhem.

"You know," Lupin whispered to Chitral. "I don't think I've ever heard of Peeves _helping_ a student before." Chitral, eyes wide, nodded.

[. . .]


	13. SeekFound

disclaimer: HP and it's characters are not mine, just Kaysa, Chitral, Chasta, and Shasta

A/N: welcome to the summer adventures! herein we shall explore the character dynamic, make some discoveries about their history's, and enrich our minds by delving into some aspects of Shifter culture.... but don't worry, we'll make sure it's entertaining ^_^

oh, also, for these bits that are entirely of my own creation, and not written into the books, i'm going to try to call Remus Remus, rather than Lupin, but it's sort of a habit so if i slip up i apologize. feel free to point any such slip ups to me so i can fix them

* * *

**Seek/Found**

"I won!" Kaysa yelled, leaping on top of Sirius, grinning ear to ear.

"So you did," he replied, stumbling backwards and grabbing the wall of the cave for support. "Well, it didn't take you long at all. I thought I'd found a _good_ hiding spot."

"Oh, you did," Kaysa assured him. "But nothing fools _my_ nose!" She laughed and hugged him, then said, "Here, I brought food. Bet you haven't had a decent meal in years." And she pulled a paper bag out of her traveling cloak, which she handed to him.

"Excellent!" Sirius said, sitting down and opening the bag. Inside were several rolls, a bundle of chicken wings, some apples, and a flask of something that was sure to be highly nutritious if not delicious.

"Slow down!" Kaysa yelped as Sirius began to wolf down the food. "If you make yourself sick I won't be at all sympathetic."

"Bah!" he replied, but did slow down a bit. He knew she was probably right, not to mention she never made a threat she wasn't prepared to make good on.

As Sirius ate, Kaysa inspected the cave. It was, she decided, a very good one; not so large as to be cold and drafty, but not so small it was cramped, either. Much to Kaysa's delight, the walls were full of niches and had several shallow lips that she could use as shelves. A wide smile spread across her face; this was very good. She wouldn't have to do much, which meant it would be much harder to tell that they'd been there if they had to leave and someone came across the cave later.

"Thought you might like it."

Kaysa turned to find Sirius watching her, his eyes sparkling.

"It's perfect," she told him happily. And with that, she pulled out her wand and a handful of tiny objects. She waved her wand and the things in her hand began to fly onto the little stone shelves, growing as they went, becoming their proper sizes.

Mostly they were kitchen things; spices, herbs, salt and pepper, a pestle and mortar, and a good knife all found places in or on the rock walls. The last few things were Kaysa's potions kit and a small bag of toiletries. These went into a little corner at the back of the cave.

Kaysa looked about, then, apparently satisfied, she sat down beside Sirius and took one of the apples from the bag. As she ate it, she filled Sirius in on what had happened since he had escaped. She told him how Remus had resigned ("and nearly everyone was really sorry to see him go, let me tell you,"), how happy Hagrid was since Buckbeak had escaped ("he celebrated all night!"), and how happy Harry had been to get his letter ("I think he was even more pleased than me!"). How furious Snape had been about Sirius's escape ("you shoulda seen — looked like he'd gone mad"), and how it had been Snape who had brought about Remus's resignation ("no worries; I beat him up _real _good for that!"), and how Chitral was staying with Remus for the summer holidays.

"How is Remus?" Sirius asked when Kaysa hesitated.

"Well, he seems to be doing okay, but —" she paused, biting her lip. "I don't know. Chitral knows him better than I do, and she's worried. Losing the teaching post — that's pretty big. Chitral's afraid it hasn't really hit him yet, you know?"

Sirius nodded, he did know. "Poor Moony. And it's all my fault, too."

"No, it's not," Kaysa said sharply. "It's not anyone's fault. It just happened. And _you_ certainly didn't make Snape tell everybody he's a werewolf. If you must blame someone, blame him."

"Could we please not start the summer by arguing?" Sirius asked plaintively.

"Does that mean I win?" Kaysa retorted. Then she sighed. "Look, Remus doesn't blame you at all. He told me. He said to make sure you didn't blame yourself for it — _any_ of it. Alright?"

Sirius hesitated, catching the extra meaning. Finally he said, "I'll try."

Kaysa smiled wryly. "I suppose that will have to do for now," she said, tossing her apple core out the mouth of the cave.

Sirius watched it fly away out of sight. Then, suddenly, he reached over and pulled Kaysa into a tight hug.

"I've missed you," he said quietly. "I'm so glad to be out of Azkaban."

"Me too," Kaysa murmured, wrapping her arms around him, returning the hug. They sat there for quite a while, partly for the sheer joy of being able to, but also because they both needed the contact. After everything that had happened it was just so nice to finally be back together.

About week later, Kaysa woke up to find that Sirius was missing from the cave. Looking around to see what had woken her, she saw a dark figure outside. A light breeze carried Sirius's sent to her as well as something else. Something sour smelling, like acid.

"Sirius?" she called softly. Rising from her spot on the cave floor she walked out to see what was going on. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he said hoarsely. This statement was immediately contradicted by his body, which chose that precise moment to expel everything left in it from dinner.

"Oh, fine, yes I'm sure," Kaysa said sarcastically as she placed a hand on his back, letting her healer's magic course through him. "Has this happened before?" she asked as he sat up. "Because you don't seem nearly as surprised as you ought to be."

"Only once or twice," Sirius said shrugging. "I just figured it was something bad I'd eaten."

"Not with me cooking it isn't," Kaysa said firmly. She looked him over, inspecting him critically. He was shaking and sweating and felt cold beneath her hand.

"It's never been this bad before," Sirius admitted, wiping his mouth on the sleeve of his robes.

Kaysa frowned, thinking. Then, acting on a sudden whim, she spread out her mind's awareness, searching, looking. . . .

"Dementors!" she declared after a moment. "There's a bunch of dementors near enough to be within mental range. Were they around for the other times?"

"I don't know, maybe. It wouldn't surprise me if that was it," Sirius said. "But I can't use my mind like that unless one of your people is near by. You know that."

"Oh, right, sorry," Kaysa said. "Well, anyway, it wouldn't surprise me either. Hmm, I wonder if there's a way to test that without you having to lose your breakfast. . . ."

"Probably, but can it wait 'til morning?"

"Of course, now come on," Kaysa said, leading him back into the cave. They curled up together at the back of it; Kaysa had her arms around Sirius and her magic set up so that if anything happened she would heal him automatically.

After another week, it was decided that the cause was definitely dementors. This meant that, as the foul creatures seemed to be spending quite a lot of time near enough to cause trouble, there was great incentive to leave when Chitral sent them an invitation to come spend a few weeks with her and Lupin. So Kaysa and Sirius cleared up the cave so no one would be able to guess that they'd been there, and set off, flying on Buckbeak and cloaked by several spells of invisibility.


	14. Fractions and Disorders

disclaimer: HP and it's characters are not mine, just Kaysa, Chitral, Chasta, and Shasta

A/N: okay, so i actually do have a plan for this, but i have this bad feeling that the rabid mini plot-bunnies are going to invade my brain at some point.... i apologize in advance for any randomness or seeming manifestations of bi-polar disorder.

* * *

**Fractions and Disorders**

The house was large; originally it had belonged to Kaysa and Chitral but after they all got out of school, the whole gang had ended up living there for a while. It was now technically Remus's house; the girls had given it to him when they left to go back to the Homeworld after Lily and James's deaths, but they still all sort of owned it collectively.

Kaysa and Sirius got in late — late enough that they were surprised to find both Remus and Chitral still up, waiting for them. They found a place for Buckbeak in the attic, then all headed straight for their beds, Kaysa's in Chitral's room and Sirius's in with Remus; their old familiar sleeping arrangements.

Next morning, Remus woke early. He headed downstairs with a vague idea of making breakfast before everyone else got up. But when he got to the kitchen he found Chitral already up and about. She was stirring a cauldron. Remus stopped dead. From somewhere behind him came the sound of footsteps.

"Morning, Remus!" Kaysa said, kissing his cheek happily. He didn't even blink. "Er — Remus? Remus!" she said, waving her hand in front of his eyes. Getting no response, Kaysa frowned. What was wrong with him? She followed his eyes and saw what Chitral was doing.

"Oh," she said softly, understanding. "Is it that time already?" Chitral nodded. She was watching Remus carefully, concern shining in her eyes.

"Well, sit down, Moony. I'll make breakfast." Remus seemed not to hear. He stood there for a moment, transfixed, then turned and walked quickly from the room, heading back upstairs.

"Kaysa! What did you do that for?" Chitral was glaring daggers at her friend. "You just upset him more!"

"I know," Kaysa said. She sighed and walked over to where Chitral was stirring the Wolfsbane potion and sniffed experimentally. Then she shook her head. "He was heading for a breakdown anyway. I just gave him a little shove in the right direction." Chitral still looked mad. "Here, let me help. Snape never let me, and I bet I can make it taste better." And Kaysa started to take out her own case of potion ingredients. "Don't go up there just yet," she added, seeing Chitral glancing at the doorway. "Give him a few minutes to be alone. You know how men are."

"Sirius isn't like that," Chitral said bitterly. "He comes _looking _for you."

"Only sometimes," Kaysa said quietly. "Often as not he's just as stubborn — only with him it's worse, 'cause then he _likes_ to fight. Remus just leaves, he never rows with you."

"Yeah, but with Sirius it's more because he just doesn't want to breakdown than because he doesn't want you to see. We both know that."

"Yeah, I guess so . . ."

Upstairs, Remus was pacing, trying to escape the feeling that the world was falling apart around him. Feeling slightly claustrophobic, he threw a window open and stuck his head out. The early morning air was a bit damp, but it was cool and sweet and quite refreshing. Remus breathed deeply. Then something caught his eye. High overhead, pale against the morning sky, was the waxing gibbous moon. And that was all it took.

WHAM!

Both Kaysa and Chitral froze, listening. Quick footsteps overhead, the faint sound of a door being thrown open, then a muffled gagging noise followed by a rather nasty _flump_. They exchanged glances.

"I though Sirius only had that problem when there are dementors around," said Chitral a bit distractedly as she measured something out for the potion.

"He does," Kaysa replied. "You'd best get up there, I think. Don't worry; I'll finish this."

Chitral blinked, confused, then her eyes went wide.

"Oh God — Remus!" and she dashed off up the stairs, leaving Kaysa to the potion.

Remus was in the master bedroom. He sat shaking on the edge of the bed with his arms around his knees, which were drawn up to his chest, and staring straight ahead. His head hurt where he had cracked it on the window. He had made it to the bathroom just in time to be rather violently sick. Rinsing his mouth out helped, but nothing could get rid of the taste of disgust or despair.

The door creaked slightly, then shut. He didn't need to look to know it was Chitral. A groan of bedsprings and the feeling of sinking told him that she was right behind him. She took his head in her hands and pulled him gently toward her. He leaned back gratefully, barely aware of the fact that his head was only just above her waistline (she was up on her knees), and not caring at all.

"Do you believe in mercy killing?" he asked quietly after a moment. His voice came out as a painful croak, his throat raw from retching.

"Is it really as bad as all that?" Her voice was soft, her fingers gentle as she trailed them over his throat, healing magic soothing the rawness to only a dull ache. He closed his eyes, swallowed, and nodded.

She sat down beside him, rubbing his back. The contact was soothing in and of itself, but he could also feel the magic she was putting into him, quieting his stomach, slowing his heart to a more normal speed. He was still felt weak and shaky, but was at least was no longer fighting the urge to throw up.

She sighed, then said, "I do believe in mercy killing, but since you're entirely capable of committing suicide it wouldn't qualify. It would be murder."

Remus was warring with himself. Part of him really wanted to tell her to go away and leave him alone; but another, more truthful part wanted desperately to give in. Chitral sighed, shifted to her lioness form, and pushed her nose into his neck. Her concern filled his mind and suddenly there was no choice. Realities he could not escape were crashing in on him. He turned slightly and wrapped his arms around her neck, burying his face in the plush fur of her ruff. The tears came as suddenly and as violently as torrential rain. Chitral purred and began washing the nape of his neck.

But Remus was only vaguely aware of this, for Chitral, frightened by his question about mercy killings, had also wrapped her mind around his, engulfing him completely. The despair was washed away as she flooded his mind with her love, lending him strength. For how long they sat there he didn't know, but after a bit the tears stopped and Chitral's presence in his mind ebbed out like a tide, going back to its usual faint but steady flicker in the background. Remus took a deep breath, marveling at how much calmer he felt. Chitral shifted slightly, but did not pull away. Remus was glad. He leaned against her, running his fingers through her soft fur, feeling truly relaxed for the first time since leaving Hogwarts.

After a bit, however, Chitral said, "You'd better go wash, Kaysa will probably have food ready soon."

"You're right," he said, standing up and stretching. He went into the bathroom and washed the tear-stains off his face, then, as an afterthought, he brushed his teeth too. He was in a much better mood as he returned to the bedroom, and he smiled at Chitral, who was human again and still sitting on the bed.

They both jumped as Kaysa hollered, "Breakfast!" over the intercom system she and Chitral had had so much fun setting up all those years ago. "Sirius, you lazy bum, get out of bed!"

"Muhh . . . ?" came Sirius's voice, plainly still half asleep.

"What's for eating?" Chitral asked, hitting a button so that Kaysa would hear her.

"Pancakes!!" The intercom clicked as it turned off. Remus wondered vaguely if the thing was outdated yet — the girls had kind of cheated; installing a thing that hadn't been invented in their timeline yet, but technology was always changing in great leaps and bounds, so maybe it actually existed now. Chitral glanced at Remus, a grin spreading across her face and that mischievous glint coming into her eyes — clearly, the state of human invention was not on her mind.

"Come on, Moony. I'll race you down!" she said, leaping off the bed. The two of them tore out the bedroom door, across the hall and down the stairs into the kitchen where Kaysa was flipping pancakes and singing and dancing along to whatever was playing on the radio.

"Hey!" she exclaimed, as they hit the table so hard that the pitcher toppled, spilling juice everywhere. "What was that for? I mean, _really_!" She handed them a roll of paper towels. "_You_ get to clean that up."

"Sorry, Kaysa," Chitral and Remus mumbled as they started to mop up the mess, grinning sheepishly and trying not to laugh. Kaysa glowered at them, then started to make tea.

"Did Sirius get up or am I going to have to go whack him?" From somewhere over their heads came the sound of someone yelping and leaping out of bed.

"No need for that! I'm up." Sirius called from upstairs. Remus and Chitral traded amused glances. A moment later, Sirius joined them at the breakfast table. Kaysa sighed, he was still far to thin.

"Here," she said, setting a platter in front of them and handing Sirius a cup of tea. "Now, you're both under strict orders to keep that _down_." Sirius choked, and spat out some tea. "Well, you're off to a fine start," Kaysa said sarcastically.

"What do you mean both of us?" Sirius spluttered. "I thought _I_ was the only one having that problem. Moony hasn't tossed _his _cookies —"

"_You_ slept late," Kaysa informed him. "So therefore you missed out on this morning's — excitement."

"That was excitement, was it?" said Remus dryly.

"For lack of a better word."

"What happened?" Sirius asked, looking sharply at him. Remus shrugged. Sirius frowned. "Oh, come on. You know all about _my_ problem. What —"

"I don't really know," Remus said quietly. "I mean, I know _what_, but as to _why_, I couldn't say. It's the same old problem, just — just —"

"Just a new reaction?" Kaysa guessed.

"No," Remus admitted. "An old one. One I thought I'd finished with, too. It used to happen, though; when I was little. When I first understood — really understood — what it was to be a werewolf — sometimes I'd get sick afterwards, remembering what I'd done — and when I found out about Greyback —" He stopped abruptly and shook his head, as if to clear it. Then he looked up at them, his expression puzzled. "But that was years and years ago. Why — ?"

"Well, think about it," Chitral said. "After all that's happened lately —"

"You mean like getting loose on the castle grounds and —" Sirius started.

"And losing the best job I've ever had . . ." Remus interjected sourly.

"And losing Peter," Kaysa added. "And I mean that _both _ways."

"Right," Chitral said, nodding. "Not to mention the fact that we're finally together again but we're missing about half the group."

"Yeah, we're four and one sevenths now," Kaysa said quietly. "Peter's not really one of us anymore. . . ." No one spoke for a moment. Kaysa flipped a few more pancakes. It was Remus who finally broke the silence.

"So," he said, "do I get a cup of tea, too?"

"Yes, you do," Kaysa said slowly, as she ladled something into a goblet. "But not until you drink that," she added, handing it to him and placing a platter of done pancakes on the table. Remus made a face at her but took a sip. Then he frowned, and sniffed the potion.

"Kaysa, I think you must have made a mistake — this doesn't taste anywhere near as foul as it should," he said. Kaysa laughed.

"No worries," Chitral told him. "Kaysa just made some additions of her own. It'll work just fine, I swear. Better, even; we put something in there for the PLT."

"PLT?" Remus and Sirius asked together.

"Hey, don't look at me," Chitral said quickly. "Kaysa came up with it." They turned to Kaysa, who grinned broadly, pouring more pancakes onto the frying pan.

"Pre-Lunar Tension," she said. "It's kind of like PMS, only, for werewolves."

Sirius, reaching for the pancake platter, made a sound halfway between shock and laughter.

"Oh," said Remus, looking a bit awkward. "So that's why this tastes different?"

"Actually, I think that can be put down to Kaysa's handiwork," Chitral said. "You know how she used to drive Snape crazy like that. Still does, for that matter. In fact, I think you make a point of doing it, don't you?" she added, turning to Kaysa.

"Of course I do," Kaysa replied, looking offended that anyone should have to even ask. "I mean, someone has to do it, don't they. And I enjoy it. Especially since there's really nothing he can do about it."

"So if Moony's got this PLT thing, what about me?" Sirius wanted to know.

"Oh that," Kaysa said. "As far as I can tell, yours is something that already has a name. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder."

* * *

A/N: *begs* reviews? please? or mini-plot ideas?

*bribes* i'll give you a virtual cookie


	15. Dreams and Memories

disclaimer: HP and it's characters are not mine, just Kaysa, Chitral, Chasta, and Shasta

A/N: okay, i've been trying and trying to get this chapter to come out right and i just can't quite manage it. i have a feeling that this is as good as it's going to get so i'm just going to put it up and move on because i really want to get to the next part.... anyway, constructive criticism is welcome, as are reviews of pretty much any kind.

oh, and thanks to mo2, both for the review and for pointing out my error in math earlier with the twins... i'm going to try and correct that soon. and, going on the theory that, if one person then probably more are wondering, i am at some point going to try and write their school years with James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter, and, no, there's absolutely no connection between Lily's appearance and theirs. i had come up with these characters and their species long before i ever read HP. at some point i'll try and write that story too.... aagghhh! the plot-bunnies! they're taking over!!!

* * *

**Dreams and Memories**

Remus started awake to the sound of someone yelping. Judging from the darkness, he guessed it must be around midnight. Grabbing his wand from the bedside table he whispered, "Lumos." Blinking in the sudden light, he saw Sirius sitting bolt upright in the next bed. Sirius's eyes were wide and dilated, and it looked like he was shaking.

"Sirius?" Remus asked quietly. "What's wrong?"

"Bloody dementors," Sirius gasped, looking all around. "Where's Kaysa?"

"Asleep, probably. It's late." Remus stretched out with his mind and found Chitral's sleep-fuzzy though patterns.

_ Chitral? _he called.

_What? _she asked sleepily.

_ Sirius says there are dementors about! Get Kaysa in here._

Less than a minute later, both girls came rushing into the room. Kaysa went straight to Sirius, who was now very white and shaking badly.

"I'm really getting sick of this," Sirius gritted out as Kaysa approached. She smiled tiredly and sat down beside him, wrapping one arm about his shoulders and placing a hand on his chest. Sparkling green fire spread from her fingertips, seeping into Sirius's body and making him glow slightly. Chitral stood in the doorway. She looked tired, but alert.

Remus watched nervously as they sat there bathed in green light. Something stirred in the back of his mind like déjà vu — this, or something much like it, had happened before, he was sure of it. Then he frowned. That was a silly thought, of course this had happened before: Back when they'd all been in school, Kaysa and Chitral had always been in and out of the boys' room, at least once James and Sirius had convinced everyone that it was fine . . . but that hadn't been to heal anyone. . . .

Voices jolted Remus back to the present. Kaysa and Sirius were arguing.

"But what if they come back?" Sirius was saying, trying to get Kaysa to stay. "I'd like to actually get some sleep tonight, you know?"

Kaysa stood uncertainly by the door with Chitral. The problem, Remus knew, was the same as it had been back in school — this was the 'boys' room' — but this was technically his house now.

"It's alright, Kaysa," he said, putting his wand out so they could sleep. "We'll relax the house rules for tonight."

"Thanks, Remus," Kaysa said, walking back to Sirius's bed and sliding in. She and Sirius curled up together with apparently no thought for how odd it should have been — but then, Remus thought, they'd pretty much always been like that. He glanced at them: They were already asleep.

Then the door shut and the room was plunged into darkness. Remus felt his bed sink a few inches and knew Chitral was there. As she stretched out next to him, he tried to think of a way to get her to go back to her own bed. But before he had even opened his mouth Chitral said, "Don't argue," and kissed him. He tried to push her away but had no luck.

"Don't do that," he said firmly, when she finally pulled away.

Defiantly, she kissed him again, more fiercely this time. And she didn't stop there. Her lips brushed his cheeks, eyelids, and neck before finding his mouth again. Panicking, Remus threw her off of him and leaped out bed. Chitral laughed softly.

"You really are and idiot sometimes," she murmured. "Lie down, we all need to sleep. Don't worry," she added coldly when he hesitated, "I won't touch you."

Remus got back into bed. Chitral lay stiffly away from him. This pointed not touching was even more uncomfortable than being kissed by someone he didn't love that way. Remus considered her statement. There was a loophole, though she probably hadn't realized it yet. He bit his lip, uncertain, then, unable to stand the awkwardness he shifted closer to her. Chitral stiffened.

"Don't test me," she snapped irritably. "I said I wouldn't so I won't."

"You won't," he said softly, putting his arms around her. "But we never said Iwouldn't." As he pulled her closer he heard her sniff quietly. "Oh, no. Chitral, don't. Don't cry. Please don't," he begged her. Chitral rolled over and buried her face in his shoulder. "Please don't. It makes me feel guilty —"

The effect this had was so abrupt it was frightening.

_NO!!_ she thought at him, so fiercely it felt as if she had hit him over the head with it. She pushed him away and stared into his eyes. _You mustn't! Not ever!_

_ Ouch, _he sent back. _Mustn't what?_

_ Never ever feel guilty for not feeling what I feel. It's not your fault and it's not your problem. It's mine. I told you that years ago, remember? You mustn't let me interfere with your life. No matter what!_

_ Alright, alright,_ Remus assured her. He was glad she had stopped crying, but wished he hadn't mentioned feeling guilty, since it seemed to have upset her more. She turned over, pressing her back against him. He could feel her breathing hard.

_Sorry, _she sent, after a moment. _But you really mustn't, you know._

_ I know, _he replied. _Go to sleep, Chitral. We're both too tired to figure anything out just now._

After a few minutes Chitral's breathing slowed and became rhythmic. Remus thought she must be asleep. Looking down at her, he sighed. Where had things gone wrong? Things were so easy for Kaysa and Sirius, why couldn't it be like that for him and Chitral too? He needed her, loved her so much — just not the way she wanted. Sighing, he lay down, his nose in Chitral's hair, and, breathing in her familiar scent, let sleep take him.

_Remus wakes with a start. He is in the Hospital Wing at Hogwarts and he feels horrible. Looking around, he sees that there is a girl sitting on the end of his bed. He sits bolt upright, staring_. _The girl smiles at him and puts a finger to her lips. Remus recognizes her, though he can't remember her name. She is one of the two girls in his year — third year — who never speaks. No one really knows anything about them; they keep to themselves mostly. They are both in his house, Gryffindor, too._

_ "Are you sick too?" he asks, curious as to why she's there. The girl shakes her head. "Then what are you doing here?" It must be nearly midnight, he thinks. Checking his watch, he sees that he's right. What is she doing out of bed so late?_

_ "I'm seeing you, of course." When she speaks, it's with such an odd accent that Remus feels he understands why she never talks during classes. It sounds as if she wants to roll every syllable or something strange like that._

_ "Where did you learn to speak English?" he blurts out. "Sorry," he adds quickly, blushing._

_ "It's okay," she says. "My entire family is multilingual, I just haven't practiced English as much as some of the others. It sounds weird because I still haven't figured out the accent, so I seem to end up using all the others at once." She smiles crookedly. "Admittedly, it would probably help if I talked . . ." she trails of, and gives a soft snort of laughter. Remus smiles._

_ "So what are you really doing here?"_

_ "I just told you, I'm seeing you. Here." She hands him a goblet of something that smells very good._

_ "What is it?" he asks._

_ "It's _good_," she tells him, smiling. He takes a sip. It _is_ good. He drains the goblet quickly._

_ "Thanks."_

_ "No problem," she says. "Name's Chitral, by the way," she adds, holding out her hand for him shake._

_ "Remus —"_

_ "Lupin. Yes, I know." That surprises him. Most girls know James and Sirius, not him. Chitral checks her own watch, but as this is such a common habit for nighttime wanderers Remus just assumes she's keeping an eye on the time._

_ "So what's your last name then?"_

_ Chitral laughs. "I don't have one. I've never bothered." Seeing the question in his face she explains, "Well, you see, everyone always seems to have such a hard time with my first name — no one can ever get it right on the first try — so I decided it would be kinder not to have a last name. I mean, just think what sort of surname I'd have to have, with a first name like Chitral." She's laughing again, and Remus finds himself joining in. They keep talking. Chitral continues to check her watch often. Then after about two minutes she stands up._

_ "Sorry about this," she says briskly, and before he can ask what she means, Chitral grabs his head and pushes him sideways so that he's leaning over the opposite edge of the bed. He has just enough time to register that he facing the interior of a rather large bucket before his stomach heaves and expels a good deal of what it contains._

_ When Chitral lets him sit up again he stares at her suspiciously. "How did you know that would happen?" he demands, wiping his mouth._

_ "Well, what did you think that drink was for?" she retorts, sitting down next to him. He glares at her and crosses his arms, knowing full well that she knew exactly what he'd thought and suspecting that she'd probably intended for him to think it. Chitral sighs._

_ "Look," she says. "Here's the deal. They've told you that they think you have the flu or something, right?" Remus nods. "Well, what they aren't telling you is that they really don't have a clue what's wrong. That stuff Madame Pomfrey gave you? — just something to keep you from being sick. My friend and I think that's a mistake. We rather think someone inexpertly slipped something into a cup — probably intended for James, you know, what with the match being tomorrow. But that means it's probably best to get it out —" she stops abruptly as Remus's body lurches and grabs his head again, managing to get him over the bucket just in time. When he's finished retching she lets him up and hands him a cup. "Just water. I promise," she assures him. He takes a grateful sip._

_ "Chitral," he says clearly, if rather hoarsely._

_ "What?"_

_ "Ha! Not everyone gets it wrong the first time. _I _said your name just fine, didn't I?" Chitral stares at him for a moment then bursts out laughing. Remus starts to laugh too but ends up coughing because his throat is raw. Chitral reaches out and places a hand on the back of his neck. He stops coughing, the rawness gone._

_ "How did you do that?" he asks in amazement._

_ Chitral hesitates a moment, then says, "If I tell you, do you promise not to tell anyone without my permission?" He nods, and she holds up a hand and waggles her fingers. A green light like fire sparkles at her fingertips. "I belong to a very special people," she tells him. "We're healers. Not like the kind at St. Mungo's, we're natural healers. We're much better _and_ more efficient. But we have to keep it a secret. It scares most people._

_ "Now, I apologize in advance for this. I really am sorry, but it's the best way to do a diagnostic for something you don't expect to recognize," and without warning, she leans forward and presses her mouth to his. Remus tries to pull away but Chitral reaches up and grips the back of his neck, forcing him to sit still as she runs her tongue over his lips. Then she pulls back, grimacing slightly. Remus glares at her; technically that was his first kiss, although he isn't sure that it should count — kisses shouldn't be businesslike. _

_ "I said I was sorry," Chitral says, sounding rather irritable. "Believe me, if there'd been another way, I'd've taken it." Then she spits into her left palm and closes her fist. He hears her murmur something odd sounding then she opens her hand with a sharp sort of flick._

_ Remus stares. Suspended in the air over her palm is a ball of light. Many, many colors swirl around in it. Chitral inspects this globe of light for a moment. She bites her lip._

_ "Kays," she calls softly. "I think you'd better see this."_

_ Remus looks around and sees another girl enter the Hospital Wing. It's Chitral's friend, Kaysa. Chitral stands up to show her the ball of light. Standing side by side, Remus can see that Kaysa is half a head taller than Chitral and a bit thinner. Kaysa peers at the thing, a slight frown on her face. Then her eyes widen._

_ "Ooh, that's nasty!" she says, "and very complex, too. Here, look —" she starts, then stops, looking at Remus, who is listening closely. She continues speaking, but lowers her voice. Remus can't hear her clearly, but he can tell that she's speaking some other language. Clearly they don't want him to know what they're saying. Thit is worrying. Finally the girls end their conference and come over to his bed, looking grim but determined._

_ "Okay," says Kaysa. "Here's the deal. I can't really explain what's wrong, but basically someone put something in you that's very nasty — absolute moron, whoever it was, messing about with a potion that complex. Anyway, your body had the right idea, but that stuff Madame Pomfrey gave you caused trouble. It will take your body a long time to get over this naturally."_

_ "What do you mean?" Remus asks, confused._

_ "Er — basically, it will be like having the flu," says Chitral, "but —"_

_ "But what?"_

_ "There's something in there I don't trust," Kaysa says slowly, looking at the ball of light which is now in her hand. "Something weird — messing about, like I said. Thing is, I can't tell what it is. It'd take a while to figure it out, but, whatever it is, I don't want it in you, just in case. So we're going to help you get everything out."_

_ Remus looks at Chitral uncertainly. He isn't sure he likes the sound of this._

_ Chitral sighs, and makes a face. "It's a rather nasty affair, I'm afraid. You'll throw up a lot. It won't be fun. But I'll do what I can. Kaysa, I'll need your help for this."_

_ "Right," Kaysa says, rolling up her sleeves and pulling her long hair back into a neat ponytail. Then she places her hands on Remus's back, fingers splayed, palms flat, magic coursing. He can feel it; it's like a warm tingling. Chitral takes his head in her hands._

_ "Sorry again," she says with a wry smile as she pulls him over to face the bucket once more._

_ And then it begins. It's horrible, like being burned all over inside. At first Remus is aware of the pain and of vomiting almost constantly, but eventually everything blurs together and the only thing he's really conscious of are Chitral's hands and her voice as she sings softly under her breath in tongues he doesn't know. For how long he sits there with the girls' magic running through him he can't say, all he knows is that he can't wait for it to end. And then it does. So abruptly that he almost doesn't notice it._

_ "Okay, we're done," says Kaysa. "Chitral, would you deal with him, please? I want to examine this a bit more," she taps the light-globe, which has somehow become solid._

_ "Do I have to?" Chitral asks._

_ "Yes. You know that," Kaysa says, giving her friend a sharp look. "I'll see you later. Good night." And she leaves. Remus looks at Chitral, wondering why he's bothered by the fact that she doesn't want to stay and "deal with him," whatever that means. Then suddenly he worries: What if Chitral doesn't want to deal with him because it means something unpleasant?_

_ "It's not as bad as it sounds, you know," Chitral says, catching the look on his face. "Kaysa's just like that when she's preoccupied."_

_ "Oh? So then what did she mean?"_

_ "I have to make you forget," Chitral admits reluctantly. "Sorry."_

_ "But we haven't done memory charms yet —" Remus starts, then stops as something occurs to him. "Or is this something else you guys can do? More of this healing magic stuff?"_

_ "Yup," says Chitral. "Don't worry though. It doesn't hurt or anything, you won't even notice. You'll just go to sleep and when you wake up you won't remember any of this."_

_ "Why?"_

_ "Don't you think it would be a bit awkward otherwise?"_

_ "Well, maybe, but —" he breaks off, unsure of how to say what he means. He doesn't really want to remember all of this — or at least, there are certainly parts he wouldn't mind forgetting, but — but she's interesting. And funny. And nice. He isn't sure he wants to forget that part._

_ "Tell you what," Chitral offers. "I'll make you forget, but only by suppressing the memory. That way, you'll probably remember at some point. Okay?"_

_ "Okay," Remus says sleepily. He lays down and closes his eyes, listening to her voice as she sings softly once more . . ._

Remus's eyes flew open. He remembered. It had been a dream, but it was real. He remembered! Looking around, he saw what had woken him. Kaysa and Sirius were bathed in green light once more. The dementors must be back. Seeing him watching, Kaysa smiled wryly at him then turned back to her job.

Returning to the dream-memory once more Remus fought to remember. He had been ill, and the girls had come in the night and healed him. Then Chitral had made him forget. But now he remembered and realized that it had been only a few days later that both Kaysa and Chitral had started talking in class and then out of class too. Sirius had ended up with a monster crush on Kaysa, though he'd never told her, and then a month or so later, the girls had joined the gang. Looking down at Chitral lying next to him, he couldn't help wondering whether she had liked him even then, or if that had come later.

Sirius yelped softly in his sleep and woke Chitral. She lifted her head and looked around. Then she frowned, concentrating.

_There's a lot of them, _she sent to Remus and Kaysa. Kaysa nodded.

_I know, _she sent back, her mind-voice laced with frustration as her magic fought against Sirius's body's reaction. _Many more then we ever got back — er — back 'home.' Chitral, I might need some help —_

But then another image interrupted, a horrible image, and very strong: A penetrating cold, a woman screaming distantly, a pair of rotting, scabbed hands, a hood being lowered, and then a face. A face with grey, scabbed skin, no eyes, just a mouth, a huge gaping black hole of a mouth —

Sirius's eyes flew open and he sat bolt upright, panting. "What was that?" he gasped.

There was a moment of silence then, "I think that was our problem," Kaysa said, looking rather alarmed. She eyed Sirius for a moment then said, "Where did you get that?"

"What?"

"That image, it's not yours," Kaysa said. "Where did you get it?"

"I don't know, I didn't even know I had it."

Kaysa thought for a second then her eyes widened. "Harry," she breathed. "That's Harry's! Remember, one of the dementors almost kissed him. They were trying to get to you," she pointed at Sirius, "and Harry was in the way. But how —" she broke of, a look of horror on her face.

"What is it, Kays?" Sirius prompted.

"It's me," she whispered. "It's all my fault! I was projecting like mad, trying to get them to pay attention to me instead. And Harry was trying to conjure a patronus — you'd sort of passed out or something, and I was on top of you — Harry must have projected that, and since I was projecting too, I would have just sent it out along with everything else. I didn't even notice it. Because we were in contact and you had passed out, it makes sense that it would be something in your subconscious. Like, like a suppressed memory, or something," Kaysa stared at Sirius, a hand over her mouth. "Oh stars, it's all my fault. I'm so sorry —"

"It's okay," Sirius reassured her. He swallowed. "I guess it's time to fix that though, huh?"

Kaysa nodded. Placing her fingers to his temples and looking into his eyes, she started the magic. She couldn't take away the image, but she could lessen the horror of it, making it as if it was an image made from a description, rather than from being an eyewitness to the truth. Simply as a precaution, Chitral did the same for Remus. It didn't take long, and soon they were all ready to go back to sleep.

"Hey, Chitral," said Remus, suddenly wondering something. "What was in that — that puking potion you gave me?"

"What?"

"In third year, remember," and he told her about his dream and what it had brought back.

"Oh, that," she said, when she understood. "Actually, that wasn't really a potion at all, though we did add some stuff for timing. But we used a Muggle thing, called syrup of ipecac. It makes people throw up. I guess Muggles use it for if they do something really stupid and poison themselves. It works very well."

"I know," Remus said with a wry smile.

They drifted off to sleep, and when the dementors came back for a third time, no one so much as stirred.


	16. In and Out

disclaimer: HP and it's characters are not mine, just Kaysa, Chitral, Chasta, and Shasta

* * *

**In and Out**

The next day, while Sirius was feeding Buckbeak and Chitral was out, having gone to Diagon Alley to replenish her Potions supplies, Kaysa roped Remus into helping with the hand-dishes. They were being careful not to use too much magic; there were only supposed to be two people in the house and they didn't want to attract attention to themselves with Sirius here.

"Hey, Kaysa," Remus said as she passed him a plate to dry, voicing something he hadn't wanted to bring up with Chitral or Sirius around. "There's something I don't understand. You know that day you — er — lost your temper with Chitral and me?"

"Ye-es," said Kaysa slowly, almost warily. When he hesitated she said, "I did say I was sorry, you know. And I really am, only —"

"No, no," Remus said quickly. "It's not that. It's something Chitral said afterwards."

"Oh," said Kaysa looking relieved. "What, then?"

"Chitral said — she was confused — she said that you had told her after the charm had been performed that Sirius was Secret-Keeper. But now we know that wasn't true. Only Chitral was sure if there had been a change in plans you would have told her. So, well, why didn't you?"

"Well," said Kaysa, "I would have, but Sirius asked me not to. He said if I told her, she'd tell you. And I had to agree; she would have. Now, I didn't like that reason, or anything, but it _did_ make sense not to tell anybody. The less people you told, the less likely it was that it would reach the wrong ears. So I didn't tell. I wish I had, but oh well. It wasn't that I didn't trust you or Chitral, it just made sense." She sighed and shook her head. "The truth is, I was really a bit stupid about that."

"What do you mean?" Remus asked, curious.

"You see," Kaysa explained looking slightly sheepish, "I just couldn't bring myself to suspect anyone in our group. We were family! And family just don't do that to each other — not where I come from, anyway. And that was the whole problem. If I'd allowed for the possibility of the spy being one of us, I might have realized who it was. I mean, looking back, it's obvious. Peter was always the one least into all the Eyeian stuff we taught you. He was the one least comfortable with telepathy — remember, the rest of us were always in and out of each other's heads, but Peter didn't like it. But I didn't see it because I was too stupid —" she stopped and sighed. "Well anyway. . . ."

Remus nodded, understanding, then he said, "There's something else."

"Okay, shoot."

"Well," he said, then stopped, trying to figure out how to explain. "It's — when I left, Chitral — she — she er —"

"Yes," said Kaysa grinning. "I'm sure she did."

"No," said Remus, blushing slightly. "Well, I mean, yes she did. What was up with that, anyway? I mean, I thought — I mean, she said she was over it — that she didn't feel that way anymore."

"Yes," said Kaysa. "And you believed it with almost insulting ease."

Remus sighed. "Well, maybe, but anyway, that wasn't what I wanted to ask. It's just, when I left —" he stopped and pursed his lips in frustration. Kaysa giggled.

"What?" he asked.

"You," Kaysa replied with a smile. "You're always so pointedly polite. It's funny, really, 'cause the rest of us will swear up a storm. Even funnier still because me, Chitral and Lily were always the worst that way. You really ought to try it sometime," she added. "It can be very satisfying, you know."

"Sometime, maybe," said Remus noncommittaly. "But this isn't really something to swear over. I just can't work out how to explain —" he stopped. "I'm being stupid, aren't I?" he asked her, tapping his temple to indicate the obvious solution.

"Well, yes, you are, really," Kaysa agreed. "But we'll let it pass on the excuse of it's been so long, right?"

"Right," he said, then showed her what had happened with Chitral when he'd left and the part of that little package that was so confusing.

"You see," he said, "it just doesn't make sense. I mean; I know she doesn't _mind, _but it can't be 'because' can it? But unless I'm very much mistaken, it isn't 'in spite of' either. So what's going on?"

"Well," said Kaysa with a small sigh. "You're right about both. And I'm sure that doesn't make a lot of sense, but just wait a moment and I'll try to explain. It's not 'in spite of' because, yes, she doesn't care; she would love you anyway. Same goes for 'because.' It doesn't really translate, you see. The closest I can get is to say that you're taking it backwards. She loves the werewolf because it's part of you, not the other way around."

"That doesn't make much more sense," said Remus.

"Yes it does," Kaysa argued.

"No it doesn't," he insisted. "If it worked like that, we would have to love the part of Peter that betrayed us, wouldn't we?"

"No!" said Kaysa exasperatedly. "There's a difference. Traitor is part of who he is, and it makes him someone we can't like. Werewolf has nothing to do with that."

"I don't think I understand."

"Take this house," Kaysa said. "We like this house, we built it to be comfortable for all of us to live in, right? Now, we didn't have to, but if we'd had to make sure it looked ugly outside so Muggles wouldn't come calling, or, better yet, if someone had decided to paint the outside a garish orange with say, purple spots, we might not be particularly pleased about it, but we'd still be able to live in it and be perfectly happy. We might even come to like the weird paint because it would be associated with the house we love. But if someone came and redecorated the inside to look like something out of the seventies with all those hideous colors and the stupid looking furniture, or something like that, we wouldn't like it at all. Because it wouldn't be comfortable to live in. The outside isn't important; so long as the locks on the doors and windows work and the roof doesn't leak, it hardly matters what the house looks like from outside. But if there's something unpleasant on the inside, well, that matters a whole lot more. You see? Traitor is something _inside_, werewolf is something outside. It's a what, not a who."

"So what about Greyback?" Remus asked her. "He's a werewolf."

"Well, yeah, but he's also a horrible person," said Kaysa. "I expect he was a completely arrogant prat even before the werewolf thing. If there was a before for him anyway. Now, admittedly, I don't think becoming a werewolf helped him any, but that just means he wasn't any good at coping. He's decided to blame the rest of the world for his problems. You never have. Do you understand now?"

Remus thought for a moment. Finally, he nodded.

"Yes," he said slowly, "yes, I think I do . . . I think . . . . Er, mostly, anyway."

Kaysa laughed. "Sit on it for a day or two," she advised. "If you still totally don't get it, ask again. Now," she added, pointing the dish rack, which was nearly overflowing, "get drying. We've still got the stuff from last night to clean too, you know. And hand me a towel, would you?"

Remus laughed and handed her a towel. As he reached for a dish though, Kaysa reached out and caught his hand.

"Whatever else you may be, you're still Family," she said, rubbing her cheek against the back of his hand; a catlike gesture of affection that they'd never been able to break her of the habit of using (not that they'd tried all that hard.) "Still Family," Kaysa said. "Still" — and here she made a sound that no one with human vocal cords should ever be able to make. The sound was actually a word though, from Kaysa and Chitral's native language. It was one of the few Remus was able to recognize. The word meant something between 'dearest one' and 'brother' and was only ever bestowed on Family members. Family, however, in Eyeian society, had nothing to do with blood and everything to do with love and devotion. Kaysa and Chitral had claimed the gang as a second Family in their fourth year.

"What about me?" said a voice behind them. They turned round to find Sirius, back down from feeding Buckbeak. "Am I still too?" he asked. The fractured grammar was as much a way as telling what he was talking about as anything else. Sirius, like the rest of them, had long since learned better than to try and get his mouth around Kaysa and Chitral's words for family and siblings.

"Of course you are," said Kaysa, dropping Remus's hand and pulling Sirius into a tight hug. "You always have been."

Remus swallowed, feeling slightly guilty for his doubts about Sirius. He wondered if this was something he shouldn't barge in on, or if he was allowed to join the hug too. Before he could work out the answer however, Kaysa had reached out and pulled him in. "Always," he said, echoing Kaysa, one arm around Sirius. About two seconds later a voice said, "Ooh, love scenes in the kitchen. Now that's a new one! Me too!" and Chitral squeezed her way in, making it a four way hug.

_Family! _they chorused.

Everyone spent the night in Remus's bed. Normally this would have been a very uncomfortable thing in Remus's mind at least, but he found that, nestled between Sirius the dog and Chitral the lioness and with Kaysa, also a lioness, sprawled across everybody, he really didn't mind. Using one hand to rub Sirius's ears and the other to scratch Chitral's side and the base of Kaysa's tail, he sighed contentedly. For the first time since the gang had been split up by tragedy, he felt as though everything was okay. Life was really pretty wonderful.

Kaysa, watching the stars come out through the window, happened to agree. For the moment, at least, everything was perfect.


	17. Flight

disclaimer: HP and it's characters are not mine, just Kaysa, Chitral, Chasta, and Shasta

A/N: oh, the plot-bunnies... but hey, let's face it: who can honestly say they've never dreamed of cloud-hopping?

* * *

**Flight**

The weather in the morning seemed to agree; it was absolutely beautiful. The sky was a gorgeous, inviting forget-me-not blue and full of the kind of fluffy clouds that people always daydream about bouncing around an as children. A perfect day for just about anything you wanted to do.

Unless, of course, you were Kaysa.

Kaysa wanted to play with lightning today. And you just couldn't do that without good storm. And on a day like this, the chances of a storm were pretty slim.

"Bother," said Kaysa glowering at the offending — albeit beautiful — sky.

"Never mind, Kays," said Chitral, who, personally, was quite pleased with way the day was looking. "We can still find something to do." She wandered into the bathroom, holding a toothbrush.

"Oh, let's go flying," said Sirius eagerly. "And cloud-hopping. It's a perfect day for it."

"You're right," said Kaysa, "it is. I still wish we'd had a thunderstorm, though. Oh well. Some other day, I suppose. Chi? Remus? You guys feel like some fun in the clouds?"

"Sure," called Chitral from the bathroom, her voice oddly distorted. "Just let me finish brushing my teeth, would you?"

"You?" Kaysa asked, looking at Remus.

"Why not?" he said, draining the last of the wolfsbane potion she'd given him. "Haven't done that in a long time. Should be fun."

So it was that half an hour later they were to be found up on the roof, Kaysa and Chitral as copper colored winged horses with garnet colored manes and tails, preparing for a romp and possible picnic in the clouds. When they'd been in school, Kaysa and Chitral had taken them flying during the holidays, or sometimes at night, so no one would see. The gang had gotten to be pretty good at riding bareback and double. Now there was just Sirius and Remus though, so there was no need to squish.

"You take Chitral," Sirius told his friend. "I'll ride this devil," he added, indicating Kaysa, who, it must be admitted, did enjoy tossing her riders every now and again.

Kaysa whinnied with laughter.

_Ha!_ _You just like making him uncomfortable,_ she accused Sirius with a kind of wicked good humor.

"Why Kaysa! How can you think such a thing?" Sirius said in mock outrage. "I was only thinking of sparing Moony's bum your sharp spine. Chitral will be _much_ more comfortable to sit on."

_Are you calling me fat? _Chitraldemanded.

"No!" said Sirius. "Just fatter than Kaysa."

Chitral squealed with indignation and swished her tail, catching Sirius in the face.

"Hey!" he yelled, laughing. "Enough! I take it back!"

_Good!_ said Chitral.

"I should have said less skeletal," Sirius said. This earned him a clout from Kaysa's wings and he fell over.

"I can't win, can I?" he asked, standing up.

_Against us? _Kaysa and Chitral chorused. _No way!!_

Laughing, Remus and Sirius scrambled onto their chosen mounts. This was a very undignified affair. Once on, they could stay there pretty well, but the getting on part would never be the smooth, graceful feat of professionals.

_Ready? _asked Kaysa.

"Ready," Sirius and Remus called back, grinning. The texture of the air around them changed ever so slightly — the only evidence ever to be found of the girls' magical cloaking. Sirius buried his fingers in Kaysa's long, garnet colored mane, leaning forward just a bit, ready for takeoff. He felt Kaysa's muscles bunch underneath him and then she had leapt into the open air, enormous silvery wings opening on either side of him. They dropped downward, but only for the briefest of moments and then Kaysa flapped her wings and they started to climb upwards. Sirius hollered with joy and heard an answering shout from Remus.

Looking over his shoulder, Sirius saw that his friend's face was alight with happiness, his head thrown back in an uncharacteristic show of freeness and enjoyment. Remus let go of Chitral's mane and held his arms out, the wind ripping at the sleeves of his shirt and making his hair flap. Closing his eyes, he let out a long whoop of delight.

Sirius grinned and turned back to face front again, enjoying the feeling of the wind in his face and hair, the roaring of it in his ears. Kaysa was flying straight for an enormous cloud.

_Hold on, _she said, giving him and Remus just enough time to make sure of their grips before she and Chitral began a rapid ascent that made their ears pop. Up, up they went, straight through the cloud until they were above it. Sirius gasped in awe as he beheld the magnificent cloudscape before them. He'd seen them before, but it had been so long, and this was so beautiful. Without stopping to think, he swung his leg over Kaysa's withers and slid off.

And, of course, fell.

He didn't fall very far though, only about up to his neck into the cloud before Kaysa reached out with her teeth caught him by his shirt.

_You idiot! _she yelled. _What did you think you were doing?_

"Er, to tell you the truth," said Sirius, "I don't think I was thinking. Not that it matters," he added confidently, "You'd catch me. You always do."

And then, with an angry snort, she let him go. He fell. And this time he kept falling. Sirius screamed when he got through the cloud and saw the earth sprawling out beneath him — possibly several miles beneath him. Then Kaysa swooped out of nowhere and caught him on her back. Sirius wrapped both arms tight around her silky neck, his heart racing, the blood pounding in his ears, his whole body shaking.

_Don't be so cocky,_ Kaysa scolded him furiously. _If you force me to use flashy magic to save you, someone's going to notice. I don't want to go back to the Homeworld. Got it?_

Sirius nodded; his mouth was too dry to speak just at that moment. A few wing-beats later and they were back on top of the cloud. Chitral came cantering over, Remus still on her back, and nuzzled him.

_Don't do that! _she said, and Sirius could hear the worry in her mind-voice. _You could have been killed!_

Remus reached over and gripped his shoulder, looking highly relieved. Sirius tried not to feel too pleased about all this. The fall hadn't been any fun at all, and Kaysa was right to scold, but, although he'd rather die than admit it, after so many years in Azkaban and solitude, it was very nice to be fussed over a little.

"Sorry, guys," he said grinning sheepishly. "I wasn't thinking."

_Obviously, _Kaysa grumbled.

"Is it okay to get down now?" asked Remus.

_Wait a moment, _Chitral told him. The cloud shimmered green for a second then the color faded away. _Yes, now it's okay._

Sirius, more rattled by his fall that he'd admit, waited til he saw that Remus was fine standing on the cloud before dismounting himself. Once satisfied that it was safe however, he flopped down, sprawling happily in cool moisture made magically solid. The cloud felt exactly as it looked, fluffy and bouncy. It was perfect.

Kaysa came over and stuck her velvety horse nose in his face, her warm breath smelling of grass and carrots, then she lipped his hair affectionately.

"Am I forgiven, then?" he asked tentatively. Kaysa whuffed and nudged him gently. Then her image blurred and she took lioness shape. Sirius sat up, eyeing her warily. Kaysa stretched and yawned, then looked at him and crouched down, a familiar gleam in her eye.

Sirius barely had time to transform before she pounced on him, rolling him over and pinning him down, then leaping off and racing away, inviting him to chase her. With a loud bark, he tore after her. Chitral shifted to lioness form and joined the game too, launching herself off of Sirius's back to land on Kaysa. The two of them rolled over and over and knocked Remus down. Remus, as the only one stuck with a transformation he couldn't control, had long since learned how to hold his own in play fights in human shape. Grabbing one of the girls by the scruff of her neck, he threw her into the other one then leapt on top of them. Sirius leapt too, snapping and growling and having a blast.

The 'fight' lasted about five minutes then died as everyone was too tired to play anymore. All human again, they sat panting happily in the clouds, watching other, smaller clouds float by.

"Ahh," said Sirius, lying back. Then he rolled over onto his stomach and said, "What time is it?"

"Lunch time," Chitral answered him, pulling out her wand. She gave it a wave and the picnic basket they'd packed earlier appeared.

"Excellent!" said Kaysa catching the sandwich Chitral tossed her. "I'm starving."

They ate in companionable silence, enjoying the quiet and the food, which was very good. True, it was no Hogwarts feast, but everything seemed to taste better among good friends in the clouds.

Chitral, finished eating, lay back with a sigh. The sun — from which they were protected by other clouds and by a special spell they had developed for just this purpose — was warm. A nap was starting to sound very good. But Kaysa, always the one to start trouble, rolled over and, shifting into cat form, tangled her claws in Chitral's hair.

"Hey!" Chitral yelped sitting up. Kaysa threw an arch into her back, puffed up her fur and hissed. Then she raced a few feet away and turned back, yowling insults and challenges at Chitral. Not to be outdone, Chitral shifted too and pounced on her friend. The two of them rolled, clawing at each other and making one heck of a noise, then someone got free and raced off. The other gave chase and pretty soon they were in a fully fledged game of tag — cat style.

Sirius and Remus were hard put to stop laughing long enough to even just to breathe, let alone speak. Sirius managed it at last though.

"I'd forgotten how crazy they could get," he confessed to Remus.

"So had I," his friend replied. "Though I got a few reminders while I was teaching. They all but wrecked my office once."

"Remember when they nearly set the Gryffindor common room on fire?" asked Sirius. "It was Easter break, remember? And they were chasing each other around and —"

"— and Kaysa knocked a huge stack of parchment over and it landed in the fireplace," Remus broke in, laughing at the memory.

"And she didn't even notice until her tail caught fire!"

"Right! Right!" Remus nodded. "And then James put it out with his wand and Kaysa and Chitral got all wet and shredded his homework in retaliation!"

"Yeah, the one he'd spent hours on!" Sirius added. "He was so mad. And they just laughed and shook water all over us."

"And remember the tomatoes?"

"Yeah, they'd been watching too many old movies!"

"It's the attack, of the killer tomatoes!" they sang together then fell over laughing.

"You know," Remus choked out, "I think that's probably the only food fight there's ever been in the Great Hall."

"Even if it wasn't," Sirius said, gaining control of himself, "it was certainly the only one inspired by an old horror movie featuring murderous veggies!"

They collapsed into fits of laughter again.

It was late by the time they decided to head back. The moon was rising and the stars were shining brightly. It was beautiful.

_Storm tomorrow, _Kaysa remarked, sniffing the air. There was a certain gleefulness in her tone that made them all quite sure that Kaysa had not abandoned her desire to play with lightning.

_Well, _sent Chitral, _I guess that tells us how we'll be spending tomorrow: Very, very wet._

They did.

Kaysa and Chitral woke at dawn but decided to let the boys sleep in. They set breakfast on the table and headed outside to make sure that nothing was left out that would be ruined by rain then went flying in the growing storm.

Sirius and Remus, tired from yesterday's antics, slept til noon. As they were also starving, they were highly pleased to find food ready on the table for them. Halfway through breakfast — or lunch — Kaysa and Chitral came in, a pair of sopping wet lionesses. They shook themselves vigorously, spattering water all over everything.

"Wahoo!" said Kaysa. "That is some weather brewing!"

"We can tell," said Remus as a clap of thunder sounded over their heads.

"Do we have to go out in it?" asked Sirius.

"No," said Kaysa grinning. "You just have to let me go. And _you_ have to drink that," she added, looking sternly at Remus, who was eyeing his goblet of potion with distaste.

"I know that," he said rather irritably. "Honestly, Kaysa, I already have a mother, you know."

"Yes, but she's not here now, is she?" Kaysa retorted.

"No," Remus agreed, "but that doesn't mean you need to try and fill in for her."

Kaysa sighed, shifted, and patted him on the head absently as she made her way over to the counter and started loading the dishwasher. Chitral giggled at the look on Remus's face and went to help her.

"Girls," Sirius muttered to Remus, rolling his eyes. Remus grinned across the table at his old friend and picked up the goblet. As he downed its contents, Kaysa looked over her shoulder and winked at Sirius who gave her the fleetest of smiles before returning to his own food.

Half an hour later and everyone had eaten, and all the dishes were in the wash and the kitchen was sparkling clean. Sirius sat down with a sigh.

"Anyone else whipped?" he asked the room at large.

"Absolutely," said Remus. "I haven't done this much in years."

"Well, you two can take the day off," said Kaysa laughing. "Unless you want to come flying with me in the storm, there's not a whole lot to do."

"Excellent," said Sirius. "That means I can be a lazy sod all day."

"Shouldn't be too hard," Chitral teased him.

"Yes," said Kaysa, a gleam in her eyes. "It does seem to come naturally, doesn't it?"

"Oh, shut up," said Sirius good-humoredly. Remus chuckled.

The rest of the day was spent lying about and talking, playing Exploding Snap and Gobstones. Kaysa was out for the whole day, playing with the lightning. Chitral came and went, sometimes playing with Kaysa, sometimes with Sirius and Remus, sometimes off on her own reading a book and enjoying the sensation of being dry. When night came, Kaysa came in, her eyes glowing with delight. She dried off and then everyone ate dinner around the fire Chitral had built in the fireplace. They played cards and swapped chilling tales until about eleven-thirty, then, one by one, they drifted off to bed.

"Kaysa? Kaysa!"

Someone was shaking her. Kaysa opened her eyes and rolled over to find Sirius crouched by her bedside, his face illuminated by the moonlight streaming in through the window.

"What is it?" she whispered, sitting up and frowning.

"Kaysa, we've got to get out of here," Sirius whispered back, a note of urgency in his voice. "Now — or soon, at least."

"What? Why?" Kaysa asked, completely thrown. Sirius's eyes flicked to Chitral's sleeping form. "It's okay, she's asleep. Just talk quietly. Why do we have to leave?"

"Because I can't get used to this," Sirius said. "I can't let myself get used to being around people again. When the summer's over, you and Chitral have to go back to school. And I can't stay here and get Moony into trouble. I'm going to have to go back into hiding again."

"What's that got to do with anything?" asked Kaysa.

"Because I need to be able to be alone," said Sirius patiently.

"And therefore we have to leave?"

"Okay, okay," Sirius growled. "_I_ have to leave. I was just assuming you'd come with me."

"Sirius, you're not making any sense," said Kaysa tiredly.

"Yes I am."

"No. You're not," said Kaysa. "Sirius, I've known you since you were thirteen. I know you. What aren't you telling me?"

Sirius ran his fingers through his hair. "Look," he said tightly, "when I was in Azkaban I knew the moment you and Chitral left. I shouldn't have. But I did. It was horrible. Not because of the dementors, but because it was . . . it was like going blind or something. We were all so used to being in and out of each others' heads — to being able to use our minds like that — that not being able to do so was terrifying. I don't know if Remus was the same, but then again, he put so many blocks against the kind of close contact the rest of us had when he realized Chitral was in love with him that it may not have been so bad for him. But Kaysa, I never want to go through that again. It was horrible. So I have to leave before I can get too used to it again."

"That explains a lot," Kaysa said quietly. "And it's not unheard of, either." Admittedly, she thought to herself, she'd never heard of that kind of thing happening to anyone whose contact was a Green. Mostly, the only people who suffered from a kind of telepathy withdrawal were those who'd had close contact with a Blue. They also usually turned out to be the Blue's destined pair-bond, a thing Greens neither needed or had. But then again, she was hardly a normal Green. She didn't tell Sirius this, though. Instead she said, "Can you stick it til full moon? It'll be the first one since Hogwarts and I think we should really be here."

Sirius hesitated, then nodded. "Okay," he said quietly. "But then —"

"Then we'll go, I promise," Kaysa finished.

Sirius sighed and stared out the window, his face grim.

"Curse you, Peter," he snarled under his breath. "If he hadn't escaped — hadn't . . . ."

"I know mate," said Kaysa, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I know."

He looked over at her. But before either of them could say another word, a light flared into existence at the foot of Chitral's bed. It was the same emerald green as Kaysa and Chitral's magic. Kaysa grabbed Sirius's arm convulsively. Chitral sat bolt upright, staring at the ball of green magic. Then the light exploded, leaving them all blinking rapidly, trying to regain visibility and a voice spoke.

"Chi?" it said.

Sirius's vision cleared and he saw a young boy, perhaps eight or ten years of age, standing where the light had been. He had pale skin, gem-tone red hair and emerald green eyes. His features were very similar to Chitral's.

Sirius stared at him, thunderstruck. Then the silence was broken by Chitral's disbelieving voice.

"Miko?"


	18. Family Matters

disclaimer: HP and it's characters are not mine, just Kaysa, Chitral, Chasta, and Shasta

A/N: okay, I admit it, I come up with seriously strange names. I try to spell them mostly like how they're meant to be pronounced, but even so… therefore, I'm going to provide you all with this lovely pronunciation guide. But this is just how I pronounce them, feel free to come up with your own if you like.

Mikh'oni: mee KHO nee (kh is a hard ch sound, like loch)

but Miko is pronounced MEE ko

and Mik: MEEK

Ativa: aw TEE va

Brei'ik: BRAY ik

Kavomar: kah VO mar

Greealla: gree AH la

Meura: may ÛR ah

oh, and Kaysa's easy, it's just: KAY sah

and Chitral: chi TRAL but Chi: CHEE

* * *

**Family Matters**

The boy nodded. Chitral let out a shriek and leapt out of bed. She grabbed the boy up in her arms, purring louder than Sirius had ever heard.

"Mik!" Kaysa yelled, also getting up and hugging the boy. "Mik!" she repeated pulling back and beaming in a bemused fashion. "What on earth are you doing here at one in the morning?"

"It's Greealla," the boy said, still hugging Chitral. "She —"

The door flew open and Remus came bursting in.

"What's going on?" he demanded. "Why —" he stopped dead, catching sight of the boy. "Who the hell is that?"

"I thought he never swore," the boy said to Chitral, looking confused.

"So did I," said Chitral, staring at Remus.

Kaysa sighed. "Remus, Sirius, this is Mikh'oni, Chitral's younger brother. Miko, meet the gang."

"Younger brother," Remus repeated dazedly. "How did he know you were here? How does he know who we are?"

Chitral laughed. "Mik's been our secret contact back to the Homeworld ever since we came back here. He was kitted about two years after we returned to the Homeworld and I was usually the one to babysit his litter so he practically grew up on stories about the crazy things we got up to. He knows everything."

"Miko," Kaysa said. "What about Greealla?"

"Who's Greealla?" Sirius began but Kaysa held up a hand to silence him.

"She's kitting," said Miko.

"What?!" Kaysa and Chitral chorused.

"But — but — but Mik, Greealla's _ancient!_" Kaysa gasped.

"I know," said the boy. "I don't know how it happened, but I think she'll be okay. Only I thought you ought to know. I mean, I know she was you guys's favorite watch-aunt."

"Ai carran'aiya," Kaysa breathed, sinking onto Chitral's bed.

"We have to go back," said Chitral.

"No!" said Sirius and Remus together.

"We have to," said Kaysa seriously. "You don't understand. Greealla was there when I was kitted! She's older than my mother even. She's an _arriisiiyu_," Kaysa used a word meaning someone of Eyeian descent but with little or no magic. It wasn't derogatory, though, though like mudblood, it was just a term. "She was our favorite! She was always fun. She let us get away with more than most of our watchers. Everyone loved her. We have to go."

"It won't be for long," Chitral said. "Probably only til tomorrow night. Two days at the most."

"Yeah, we'll be back before full moon," Kaysa promised. She opened her mouth to say more but stopped as three more people suddenly materialized quite silently by the door. She gasped. Chitral let out a faint scream. Miko yelled, "No!" Sirius and Remus just stared with their mouths open.

The newcomers were all adults. There were two men, one with green eyes and one with blue, and a woman, who was just green eyed and red haired as Kaysa and Chitral. All were clearly Eyeian.

"Oh shit," said Kaysa, her eyes on the blue-eyed man.

"I'll second that," said Chitral faintly.

"Kaysa!" snapped the taller of the two women. "Just what do you think you're doing?"

"Uh, mum," said Kaysa nervously.

"This is a restricted place!" the woman continued.

"Mum," said Kaysa again, a bit more loudly.

"What if you're caught? You'll be in so much trouble —"

"Mum!" Kaysa practically shouted. "I don't care. Trig and Vira have okayed us to be here and I don't care what anyone on the Council says."

"Do they know?" asked the green-eyed man in heavily accented English, looking from Kaysa to Chitral.

"No they don't," snapped Chitral. "And if you tell them we're here, da, I will never speak to you again."

Chitral's father stared at her. "Is this lark really more important than your family?" he demanded.

"Lark!" Chitral blanched. "Lark?! Is that what you think we're here for? To get a kick out of breaking the rules?"

"As far as I can tell, that's the only reason you two ever did anything," said the man dryly.

Kaysa snarled. "You speak as though we were still foolish kits."

"If you are living here, you must be," snapped Kaysa mother angrily. "Have you no sense?"

"Ativa," said the blue-eyed man who could only be her mate and therefore Kaysa's father. "Calm down. She _is_ an adult now. Has been for a while really. And who are your friends?" he added to Kaysa, eyeing Sirius and Remus.

"Oh, how rude of me," said Kaysa. Her manner was perfectly polite, but Sirius could hear the edge in her voice. "Please allow me to introduce you. Sirius, Remus, this is my father, Brei'ik, my mother, Ativa, and Chitral's father, my uncle, Kavomar. Mother, father, uncle, these are my" — and she used the Eyeian word for brothers — "Sirius Black and Remus Lupin." Kaysa met her father's eyes squarely, as though daring him to argue.

Sirius swallowed. Kaysa had just told her parents that he and Remus were her family now. Eyeian Family. Without thinking, he placed a hand on Kaysa's shoulder. Then he saw Brei'ik's sapphire blue eyes widen. Then that part of his brain that seemed so much more Eyeian-ish than human-ish in its thinking kicked and warned him — far too late — that such an action, especially so soon after Kaysa's claiming him as family, would be viewed as possessive, even perhaps a challenge. Looking into the eyes of Kaysa's father, Sirius froze. Every instinct he possessed was screaming for him to back off, this was a fight he could not win. But Kaysa had claimed him as Family. To not follow through would be to be less than Family. Eyeian Family meant you'd die for each other.

Sirius squared his shoulders and, looking directly into Brei'ik's eyes, made a valiant effort to say the Eyeian word for Family. He knew it was bad, but he could tell he'd at least gotten the general sound right. He let his mind carry the meaning to the others and he saw their surprise at his use of telepathy. Then Chitral came up to stand beside Kaysa and Remus stepped forward with his own attempt at the word, also relying on telepathy to make his meaning clear.

All this was met with the loudest silence Sirius had ever heard. No one moved. Or even breathed. The pupils of Brei'ik's eyes, which Sirius suddenly noticed were like those of a cat's, narrowed to tiny slits, fixed on his daughter and her adoptive Family. Then he smiled and stepped forward, reaching out to Kaysa, who did not hesitate to meet him.

"You," said Brei'ik softly, touching his forehead to Kaysa's and purring, "are far too much like your parents."

"Well, at least there's a base for my insanity," said Kaysa, smiling.

Brei'ik laughed then said, "My daughter, it is a dangerous path you have chosen to walk. Yet I can see there is no turning you from it. Take care, my dear one."

"You know something," Kaysa said almost sharply. "Daddy, what have you _seen_?"

"Nothing definite, I know only that blank spaces are never to be taken lightly." Brei'ik sighed. "I love you, my child, but this is indeed your home now." He looked at Sirius and Remus. "Be good to her," he instructed them, "And remember what is owed to Family."

Sirius and Remus nodded. Brei'ik smiled.

"Kavomar?" he said.

Chitral's father growled something. Chitral hissed and took an involuntary step backwards, bumping into Remus, who gripped her shoulders. What seemed to be an argument began, though it was a bit hard to tell as no one was speaking English.

"Where's Meura?" Kaysa whispered to the boy, Miko.

"Back with Greealla," he whispered back.

"Who's Meura?" asked Remus.

"My mother," Chitral murmured.

"Why aren't they speaking in English?" Sirius wanted to know. "They were before."

"English is not Kavomar's best language," said Kaysa quietly. "He'll only use it if he wants you to know what he's saying."

Exactly what she meant by this was demonstrated a moment later when Chitral snarled that she was staying here and Kavomar said, "And what is there here for you? Traitors?" his eyes fell on Sirius, who glared, "Lost friends? Petty humans and their closed-minded way of life? A mate who will never have you?" At this, Kavomar furious eyes snapped to Remus who visibly flinched.

"Not all humans are closed-minded, da," said Chitral, sounding remarkably cool and collected. "Just as not all Eyeians are fair and open-minded," she added pointedly.

Kavomar snarled in anger and frustration.

"And what of Miko?" he asked. "Would you leave your brother?"

Chitral hesitated. Remus swallowed. Sirius knew why: If anyone could convince Chitral to go back to the Homeworld it would be the little brother she clearly loved so much.

"Why don't we ask Miko?" suggested Kaysa swiftly. "He's here, after all. Let him speak for himself."

Miko seemed startled as all eyes turned to look at him. He looked at his father, and at Ativa and Brei'ik, and at Sirius and Kaysa, at Remus, and finally at Chitral.

"I love my sister," he said quietly. He looked nervous but determined. "I love her and of course I miss her when she's away. But more than anything, I want her to be happy. She's happy here, da. Only, Chi?" he added, tuning to her. "Do try to visit at least once a year, won't you? You can do that now, since they know, " he jerked his head at her father and Kaysa's parents.

Chitral laughed and swept Miko into a tight and joyful hug. "Once a year. I promise," she said.

There was a moment's silence, then, "Right," said Kaysa, businesslike all of a sudden. "Well, that's that. Now, you lot get back to Greealla. Tell her we're coming. We've just got one or two things to wrap up here and then we'll join you. We'll be there within the hour."

"Right," said Brei'ik. "Come on everybody. Miko?"

"Give me fifteen minutes," said the boy.

"Okay, we'll see you later then," said Brei'ik and he and the other two vanished noiselessly.

"Well," said Sirius. "That was abrupt."

"Yes," said Chitral, taking a tie of her wrist and pulling her hair back into a ponytail. "Kays, what things have we got to wrap up?"

"Oh, that," said Kaysa. "Not much, really, I just thought Miko might want the chance to expound his innocence, is all."

"Yes, I would," said Miko, looking imploringly up at his sister. "Chitral, I swear I never told them anything. I don't know how they found out. I swear!"

"Mik! Calm down!" Chitral said. "It's okay. I believe you. And I know how they found out too."

"Really? How?" the boy demanded.

"Light Portals are easy to track and trace, Mik," said Chitral. "You're still too young to learn to do a Continuum Shift. Until you can do those, you're easy to follow for an adult who knows how. I expect Kaysa's father is quite well practiced at such things."

"Bugger!" said Miko. Chitral smiled. "When do I get to learn?"

"When you're ten," said Chitral. "Next year, actually. Wow! Time flies."

"It sure does," said Kaysa. "Would you excuse us for a moment?" and she and Sirius left.

Remus looked at Chitral. "Think he's figured it out finally?" he asked sitting down on the bed.

"No," said Chitral rolling her eyes. "They were in the middle of some conversation-or-other when Mik arrived. Guess they want to finish it."

"Sorry," said Miko. "I didn't know."

"Hey, I'm not complaining," said Chitral smiling at him, looking happier than Remus had ever seen. "Any interruption from you is quite welcome." She sat down next to Remus. Miko wedged his way in between them.

"This is so cool," he said looking up at Remus.

"Huh?" said Remus blankly.

"All this," said the boy, with a sweeping gesture that took in what seemed to be the entire world. "Finally seeing all this. I've been hearing about this house and you and that other guy — Sirius — since I was kitted. And now I get to be here and meet you all and see everything . . . ."

"Told you he was raised on stories 'bout all this," said Chitral laughing again. "Guess I was more homesick than I realized. Took leaving here for me to figure it out. Huh. It's funny really. I took offense at what my dad said about this all being a lark, but truth to tell that's what it was at first. Staying here was never part of the plan."

"Seriously?" asked Remus, slightly startled by this. For some reason, it had never occurred to him to wonder why the girls were here.

"Seriously," said Chitral. "When we came here we really were just getting a kick out of breaking the rules. Then we met you lot and realized there were rules here we could break too. It's no wonder why we all got on so well. Birds of a feather really." She sighed. "I don't know when things changed. Well, actually, a guess I do. It was in fourth year. When Kaysa claimed you all as family for the first time. That scared me. I hadn't thought we'd stay — I didn't think we could. But that's when it stopped being a lark and started being real. Guess dad just never realized I'd grow up til now. Oh, speaking of which," she added suddenly, "'scuse me, Mik," she said, pulling the boy onto her lap and sliding over right up against Remus. Then she reached up and slipped a finger under his chin, forcing him to look her in the eye. "What my dad said — forget it. He's just the type of father who thinks anyone who doesn't fall in love with his daughter isn't worth a sneeze." And, leaning forward slightly, she kissed him very thoroughly. Then she stood up and began to bustle about the room, packing what few things she might need.

"She's right you know," said a quiet voice beside him. Remus looked over to find Miko's small face staring into his. "Dad's not a bad guy or anything, but he really can be a bit of a bum about stuff. He's the same way about Brina. Don't let him get to you. She's happy here. Whether you love her that way or not."

Remus stared at Miko. He could not believe he was getting advice about love from a boy who couldn't possibly be any more than ten years old.

"Besides," Miko continued, lowering his voice conspiratorially, "it's good for her. Most of her old boyfriends were a bit stupid really — at least all of the ones I've managed to find out about. She'd have gotten bored with them eventually." He glanced at his watch. "Oops! My fifteen minutes are up. I'd better go. Well, it was great meeting you. Say bye to Sirius for me. Sis? I'll see you there."

And with that, Miko stood and walked towards the wall. A ball of light bloomed there and he dove into it. Then the light vanished, taking Miko with it.

Remus stared after him. Old boyfriends? That was something he'd never even considered. From the way Mik had said it, Remus could tell that these alleged boyfriends had been from before the boy was born, but that would have to mean before she'd ever come here in the first place — at least, probably; he couldn't see Chitral dating anyone when she was in love with someone else. But that would mean before she was even ten! Come to think of it, Miko was younger than Harry, and Chitral was his (Remus's) age. How on earth had their parents managed that?

"Chitral. How old is Miko?"

"Nine."

"Stars! He's young enough to —"

"To be mine?" Chitral finished for him. "Thanks."

"Oh don't be like that," said Remus. "I didn't mean that. It's just — your people must have a really long reproductive life or something. Either that or just start really early. Humans usually run out of steam around fifty."

"Only the women, men go longer than that, I think," said Chitral distractedly. "Anyway, it's a bit of both for my people. Those of us with magic can have kits at pretty much any time of life if we want to. Those without still don't lose fertility until about fifty or sixty. But we also start a lot earlier that humans do too. Kaysa's parents were, let's see, her mother was six, and her father was eight or nine, I think. Chasta and Shasta's parents were both seven when they were born. My parents are only a year apart and they had me when they were ten and eleven, and my sister Brina's three years older than me so they would have been . . . seven and eight, then."

Remus stared at her. Chitral laughed.

"Remember," she said, "technically we're just lions with magic. We reach physical maturity at the age of six. Unless we want to try another shape that is. And even then we can argue with that shape and appear as an adolescent if we really want to." She grinned. "No worries though. Kaysa and I didn't. We really are this age. Anyway, what makes you ask?"

"Nothing," said he quickly. "I was just surprised at how young your brother was, is all."

"Oh baloney," said Chitral, grinning at him. "Come on, what really made you ask?"

Remus gave up. "Oh it's just your brother mentioned something about old boyfriends. But you and Kaysa never dated here until fourth or fifth year so I was just surprised. I mean, he clearly meant stuff from before he was born. Only I didn't want to ask straight out because you'd say I was being stupid."

Chitral burst out laughing. "Waste of time!" she said. "I'm still going to say you were being stupid. You could have just said."

Remus sighed. "I just can't win can I?"

"Nope," said Chitral, belly-flopping onto her bed to face him. "Anyway, to answer that question, dating happens pretty much whenever we feel like it on the Homeworld. Puberty starts around the age of three so . . . ." she shrugged. "Fortunately most of us aren't inclined to breed, otherwise we'd be overpopulated. Gee wiz," she added looking at the door. "They'd better hurry up or we're going to be late." She clearly meant Kaysa and Sirius.

"Any idea what they're talking about?" Remus asked curiously.

"None whatsoever," replied Chitral.

Remus sighed and shook his head. "It's funny, isn't it, how she's totally in love with him and he hasn't got a clue, but he always tells her everything."

Chitral raised her eyebrows. "Oh, not everything, surely," she said. "I mean, even where I come from, there are still things that you just _don't_ say to a member of the opposite sex. Unless you're a mated pair. And sometimes even then."

"Yeah, but you know what I mean."

"Yes, I do," said Chitral grinning. "If he ever finds out the only things that'll change will be where she kisses him and the size of the bed."

"To put it bluntly," said Remus, laughing and blushing slightly. He had long since gotten used to the fact that Kaysa and Chitral always said exactly what they meant, but that didn't mean it wasn't embarrassing sometimes. Of course, he thought suddenly, the same could pretty much be said of him and Chitral. Except he _had_ figured it out. And it hadn't worked.

"I told you to forget about it," said Chitral. She had evidently either read his thoughts or else just guessed.

"Chitral —" he began.

"No," said Chitral standing up. "We've been through this before. About a hundred times." She came to stand in front of him and cupped his face in her hands. "It will never be me. We both know that. It's okay. But what I know, even if you don't, is that one of these days someone else will realize what I've known all along. And when that happens I won't be able to do this anymore." She bent down and kissed him, soft and sweet, then she pulled back and smiled. "I've got to take what I can while it's still allowable."

Remus looked up at her and wished he could love her back. She was so good to him. She deserved to be loved back. But he couldn't do it. He swallowed hard, trying to think of something to say. But there wasn't anything he could say really.

Suddenly Chitral's head jerked up. Releasing him, she crept over to the door and put her ear to it. Turning to him, she put a finger to her lips, then shifted to cat form and used her magic to float herself up to the ceiling, hovering right over the door. Cottoning on, Remus grinned and kept silent. The door opened and Sirius walked in with Kaysa right behind him.

With a loud yowl, Chitral dropped, right onto Sirius's head. Sirius yelled and jumped about a foot in the air. Kaysa, laughing, caught him before he fell over. As she set him back on his feet, Sirius glared at Remus, who hid his face in a pillow trying to smother his own laughter.

"You could have warned me," said Sirius reproachfully.

"Sorry mate," said Remus. "I was under strict orders not to."

"Gees," said Sirius looking from him to Chitral and back again. "And you two call yourselves my friends?"

A dead silence fell. Sirius frowned; he'd meant it as a joke.

"That was supposed to be funny," he said.

"We know," said Kaysa; she looked highly discomfited. "Er . . ."

"You girls go," said Remus, coming to her rescue. "I'll explain."

"Thanks, Moony," said Kaysa gratefully. "We'll see you soon." and she and Chitral vanished on the spot.

Sirius turned to Remus. "What happened?" he asked.

Remus sighed and explained about Kaysa losing her temper and almost calling him and Chitral faithless. Sirius stared at him.

"I'm sure she didn't mean it," he said, sounding as though he could hardly believe what he was hearing.

"No, I'm sure she didn't," agreed Remus. "But you can understand why it's a sensitive subject."

"Yeah, I can't believe — and especially to Chitral; she's her best friend!"

Remus shrugged. "I think it's just because we were the only ones she could explode at," he said, because he certainly wasn't going to say, "well, her being in love with you might have something to do with it." Sirius would probably flip. Not to mention Kaysa would kill him if he did.

Sirius reached up and ran a hand through his hair. Remus frowned.

"You're shaking," he said, startled.

"Am I?" said Sirius, sounding genuinely surprised. He held his hands up and stared at them. They were trembling slightly. "Damn!"

"What?" said Remus.

"Did this ever happen to you?" asked Sirius, still glowering at his hands.

"Did what ever happen to me?"

"When Kaysa and Chitral left — you know, when I was in Azkaban — I knew it the moment they left. Don't ask me how, I don't really know. I just did. But it was really un-fun. I don't know quite how to explain, but I lost that sense of knowing that they were somewhere, even if they weren't in range. It was as if someone had turned off the sound. Mental sound, I mean." Sirius stopped and looked at him. "It didn't happen to you, did it? You'd know what I was talking about if it had."

Remus shrugged. "I felt them leave," he said. "I also watched them leave, though, so it wasn't a surprise. And it was a bit disorienting at first, not being able to sense people, but it wasn't really a problem. Why?" he added. "What happened to you?"

"I don't know exactly," said Sirius, frowning. "It was a bit like withdrawal, I think. I mean, it fit with what Kaysa and Chitral told us about withdrawal, anyway. I got the shakes and the sweats and all. And Kaysa — I just told her — she said it's not unheard of, but — well, she had that look on. You know, the one that means she's telling you the truth but not the whole truth. It just worries me, is all."

Remus hesitated; he could think of a few possible reasons for Kaysa to have been wearing such a look, one of which had to do with love and none of which were likely to be worth worrying about.

"I wouldn't worry about if I were you," he told Sirius. "She'd have said if it was real trouble. Most likely she just doesn't want to say anything more definite until she's sure of what she's talking about. You know how she gets sometimes."

"Yeah, you're probably right," said Sirius, yawning. "Oh, let's get back to bed. I'm bushed. Only do me a favor, and don't ask Chitral. She'll just tell Kaysa and I don't want her to think I didn't believe her or anything."

"Sure," said Remus as they traipsed back across the hall and into their own room. They got back into bed and turned out the light.

"Oh blast," mumbled Sirius as they drifted off. "Now we have to cook breakfast in the morning."

* * *

A/N: just in case anyone is curious, 'ai carran'aiya' is the full version of 'ai-ya'... it's a sort of all-purpose explicative.

and _arriisiiyu_ is pronounced ar ee SEE yuh


	19. Moonlight

disclaimer: HP and it's characters are not mine, just Kaysa, Chitral, Chasta, and Shasta

A/N: i feel like it took a long time to post this chapter... i got stuck. sorry 'bout that.

also, i'm not sure what JK Rowling had in mind for werewolves, but i did my research and all the details in here about wolves and their behavior should be accurate.

so, here you go, the nest chapter. enjoy! (reviews? please??)

* * *

**Moonlight**

Kaysa and Chitral did not return the next night. Neither Sirius nor Remus was particularly worried at first; they had said it might take two days. But when a second day had passed and there was still no sign of them, they started to get concerned.

"You don't think something happened to them do you?" asked Sirius, frowning slightly as the third morning dawned and the girls still hadn't shown up.

"Nah," said Remus, gulping down the last of the potion. "They're just running a bit late, that's all. They promised they'd be back by full moon. And that's tonight. They'll be here."

"They'd better be," Sirius growled, worry making him grumpy. "Oh, by the way," he added, "Kaysa and I — or, I don't know, it might just be me — I have to leave pretty soon. Kaysa may or may not come, it's up to her. I'll stay a few more days, but I can't stay much longer than that."

"Why not?" asked Remus, surprised.

"I'll get you into trouble," said Sirius flatly. "If they catch me here we'll both get it, and so will the girls. At some point someone at the Ministry's going to think to look here. They know we all used to live here together and all. And now they know that Kaysa's on my side. They can't do anything about it of course, 'cause it's her, but you'll still be in trouble. Also, I have to able to keep in touch with Harry. His owl won't think to look here."

"Alright, alright," said Remus. "I get the point. Try and write to me sometimes though, will you?"

"Yeah, I can send Kaysa," said Sirius grinning. "If she ever gets back, that is," he added, looking out the window at the cheerful sky and scowling.

"Oh, they'll be back," said Remus confidently. Kaysa had promised. She never broke a promise. And Chitral had never let him down before. They'd probably be back by lunch.

But lunch came and went and there was still no Kaysa or Chitral. By now, even Remus was getting worried. He and Sirius found things to do about the house, unable to sit still. Time seemed to be moving in strange leaps and bounds; it was twelve thirty, then it was two fifteen and they still hadn't gotten back, and then suddenly it was five thirty and Sirius and Lupin had run out of housework. They went to wait in the kitchen. Remus pulled out a chair and sat down tensely. Sirius didn't even bother trying to stay still; he paced up and down the kitchen floor, his jaw clenched and his hands shoved deep into his pockets.

Then, suddenly, at six o'clock, Sirius stopped pacing and stood rigidly upright.

"They're back," he said.

"What?" said Remus.

"They're back," Sirius repeated. "Can't you feel them?"

"No," said Remus flatly. "I can't. Are you sure?"

"Positive," replied Sirius.

"So why aren't they here?"

"No idea," said Sirius sitting down with a sigh. "I don't know where they are. I just know they're somewhere on this planet again."

"Wish I could do that," said Remus.

"Well, if you'd stop being stupid about Chitral and take down the blocks you probably could," Sirius retorted.

"I can't," Remus protested, choosing to ignore the bit about it being stupid. "It's too weird. It's awkward enough as it is sometimes."

Sirius decided not to mention that this was partly because Remus's attitude about it made it so.

"Hey!" said a voice behind them. They spun round to find Kaysa and Chitral back, looking highly pleased about something.

"Kaysa! Chitral!" Sirius exclaimed, jumping up and pulling them both into a tight hug. "What on earth took you so long? We were starting to get worried."

"Er," said Kaysa, looking mildly embarrassed. "We, that is, _I_ got into trouble. Told someone off for being nasty — well, I mean, how I to know he was the visiting emissary from the West Mountain Pride?"

"Oh Kaysa," said Chitral despairingly. "You must have known he wasn't from our Pride. He didn't smell anything like ours."

"Of course I knew he wasn't from ours," said Kaysa indignantly. "But I didn't know he was someone important! Anyway, West Mountain never had any good males before. They never used to make envoy."

"Oh Kaysa," said Chitral again, shaking her head.

"Could we talk about this later?" asked Sirius, nodding toward the darkening sky.

"Yes, you're right," said Kaysa, grateful for an excuse to avoid further scolding. "That's the other thing that kept us," she added, looking at Remus. "We had to find a place we could go. It's too populated here for all of us."

"Where are we going then?" asked Sirius.

"Back to the Forbidden Forest," said Kaysa. "We just had to make sure it was okay with Dumbledore."

"But Kays," said Remus. "We'll never get there in time."

"Sure we will," said Kaysa. "We're Shifting."

"I don't see how that will help," said Remus.

"Not shape-shifting," said Kaysa rolling her eyes. "I meant Continuum Shifting."

"But we can't do that," Sirius protested.

"You can if we take you," said Kaysa impatiently. "It'll be like Side-Along Apparition. Have you guys eaten anything yet?"

"No."

"Well, you'd best snarf something down fast," said Kaysa. "Elsewise you'll have to come hunting with us."

Remus grimaced and headed for the fridge. Sirius followed him quickly. Chitral sighed; Sirius and Remus had know them since they were thirteen, they'd all been the best of friends, but for some reason, they still got weird about the things the girls were willing to eat. Especially if it involved no cooking whatsoever.

By six thirty everyone was ready to go. Kaysa pulled Sirius into a tight grip, and Chitral held on to Remus. Then they Shifted.

It was the weirdest sensation either Sirius or Remus had ever felt. It wasn't at all like Apparition. When you Apparated, it felt as though you were being squeezed very hard by something. This was entirely different. It was more as though you were standing perfectly still while the world somehow folded and moved around you. There was no wind or sound or smell or anything, just a sense of extremely bizarre motion.

Then it was over; it had barely taken a second. Kaysa let go of Sirius and he stumbled into a tree.

"Does that always make you dizzy?" he asked, leaning against the tree while he waited for the world to stop spinning.

"It can," said Kaysa, "if you're not used to it. Or made for it," she added thoughtfully. "Our people never have any trouble with it."

"That was not fun," said Remus sitting down. He was swaying slightly and looked a bit sick. "Can we go home the normal way?"

"Oh, come on. It wasn't so bad," said Sirius fairly.

"Speak for yourself," Remus muttered, holding his stomach. He swallowed. "I don't feel so good."

"Here," said Chitral, sitting down beside him and placing a hand on the back of his neck. "It's okay. You're only Shift-sick." Green fire shimmered and a moment later Remus sighed.

"Thanks," he said gratefully. "I still don't want to do that again if I can help it, though."

"What's Shift-sick?" asked Sirius.

"That's what Vira calls it," Kaysa replied. "She says it's like motion sickness, but in reverse. Some people get it worse than others."

"I don't care what it's called," said Remus. "I don't like it. Can we please not do that again?"

"I can fly us home in the morning," Chitral assured him.

"Oh good, flying. I like flying," said Remus, glancing up at the sky. "It's much more fun."

"It's slower, though," said Kaysa.

"Yes, but it doesn't make me sick either," Remus retorted. "And it's not like we'll be in a hurry tomorrow, will we?"

"No," said Kaysa. "And I wasn't suggesting we go home that way. I was just pointing out that Shifting does have its advantages."

"Actually," said Sirius, "I kind of liked it. It made me dizzy, but it was still kinda fun."

Kaysa grinned. "When we leave, I'll Shift us all back to where we were. It'll save us a ton of time. Not to mention we won't be caught."

"Leave?" echoed Chitral. "What do you mean 'leave?'"

"Well," said Kaysa. "Sirius and I had better leave soon, you know. I mean, it shouldn't be too long before someone at the Ministry turns on their brain and thinks to check all the old haunts. If Sirius is still there when that happens we'll all be in trouble. And besides, when the holidays are over, Chitral, you and I will be going back to Hogwarts so . . . ."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," said Chitral. "But do visit again before the summer's over, won't you?"

"Wait a minute," said Sirius. "Kaysa, you're staying with me?"

"Oh, I'll go back and forth a bit," said Kaysa. "But other than that, yes I'm staying with you. Sirius, mate, you need a keeper."

"Of course I do," said Sirius, crossing his eyes at her. Kaysa snorted in amusement. Remus and Chitral just rolled their eyes.

"Hey, Kays," said Chitral suddenly. "We are going back to school in September, right?"

"Of course," said Kaysa. "I mean, it'd be pretty odd-looking if we didn't, don't you think?"

"Oh, well I suppose there's that too," said Chitral.

"What do you mean 'too'?" asked Kaysa blinking.

"Well, it's kind of fun, you know? I mean, things haven't changed _that_ much in fifteen years, but there's so much to know. We're taking mostly different classes this time through, and it's fascinating."

There was complete silence for a moment, then Sirius said, "You're a complete nutter, you know that?"

Kaysa and Remus made odd choking noises as they tried no to laugh. Chitral turned her nose up at Sirius.

"Just because you have no interest in bettering yourself through higher learning doesn't mean the rest of us can't," she said haughtily. She and Sirius held each other's eyes, each one trying to keep a straight face. Chitral broke first; her lips twitched and then she doubled over, collapsing into giggles. Sirius grinned, Kaysa laughed outright. Remus smiled and shook his head.

"You two really did just come here as a lark, didn't you," he said. He was still having trouble believing that, although he supposed it shouldn't have surprised him. It had just never occurred to him before. In fact, none of them had ever thought to ask the girls what had brought them to earth in the first place.

"Huh?" said Sirius, who had not been privy to his and Chitral's earlier discussion about this.

"Oh, come on Sirius," said Kaysa. "Did you never wonder what we were doing here to begin with?"

"Oh," said Sirius, looking startled. "I guess not. I guess I always just sort of assumed that you were here to learn wizardry. Like maybe you had it and they didn't teach it on the Homeworld, or something."

"Actually, that's not a bad guess," said Kaysa. "When we came of age, we wanted to learn about other kinds of magics. We also already had a bit of a penchant for, er, testing the limits —"

"She means breaking the rules," Chitral interjected dryly.

"Whatever," said Kaysa. "Anyway, we suspected there'd be trouble eventually if we just went off, so we decided to just go to Trig and avoid the whole problem all together.

"We knew we were interested in human magics," she continued, "so Trig gave us brief intros to most of them. We were curious about wizardry because it's so different from our own way of doing things."

"But don't think like this is the only place with wizards," Chitral warned them. "It's a common enough facet. We could have gone to plenty of planets that weren't off limits."

"True," agreed Kaysa. "But if we'd done that, we'd have had to do a more formal sort of study. We wanted to actually learn it, like we did here. Every branch of magic tends to have its own culture of sorts, and we wanted to take part in that. But that's hard to do if everyone immediately knows what you are."

"Especially when they all seem to think that because you belong to a higher facet of power that means you already know all the answers," added Chitral ruefully. "It never really seems to register with them that all we know is our own stuff, same as anyone else."

"Yeah, well, anyway," said Kaysa, "Trig was actually the one who suggested this place. Well, it _was_ perfect. We come of age at ten and you start attending Hogwarts at eleven. No one would know what we were, and we wouldn't have to fight with our bodies to appear the right age. All we had to do was convince Dumbledore."

"Trig did that," said Chitral, smiling. "We weren't privy to the whole conversation, but what we did see sure was entertaining."

"Trig has next to no patience," Kaysa explained. "And she hates dealing with people."

Chitral nodded. "Watching her try to explain and not just order was hilarious. Dumbledore was pretty good about it, though. I think he impressed her, actually. He said we could attend, but only if there was a way to bind us to him. He said just in case we ever got really mad or something, he needed to be able to control us."

"Of course, Trig only agreed on certain conditions," said Kaysa. "Like he could only stop us doing things, not make us do anything. That was a big one."

"Huge, actually," said Chitral. "Like, if he ever tried it she'd come and kill him at least five times over huge."

"What, literally?" said Remus, startled. "You can't bring back the dead. Everyone knows that."

"You can if you can hold onto the soul while you repair the body," said Kaysa grimly. "So far, Trig's the only know to ever pull it off, though."

"Not true," countered Chitral. "Didn't you hear? Vira managed it recently. She needed some help to do it, since she can't heal, but she still did it."

"Oh stars," said Kaysa. "I bet the Council just loved that."

"From what I heard, Veron actually suggested that they just kill her," said Chitral. "The others were against it. Officially they find it morally repugnant, but some people think it's just because they're worried they wouldn't be able to. Not anymore, anyway. She's gotten really strong."

"Um, you've lost us," said Sirius waving a hand to get their attention. "Who's Vira?"

"She's this human girl Trig found a few years ago," said Chitral. "She's a Shifter, like us. It's kind of complicated, but basically the Council is worried that it's too much power to trust in a human. No offense, or anything," she added quickly, "It's just that your species in general doesn't have the best track record in judgment calls."

Sirius and Remus just shrugged. They knew it was true. They had both been on the wrong end of bad human judgment enough.

"Anyway," said Kaysa, dragging them back to the original topic, "Dumbledore agreed to let us come and," she shrugged, "you know the rest. We came, we learned, we met you guys . . . life happened."

"So Trig put you on to Hogwarts?" said Sirius frowning. "How'd she know about it?"

"Good question," Remus agreed narrowing his eyes. "I mean, she is one of your people and this is an off limits planet. How _did_ she know about it?"

"Trig's . . . different," said Chitral slowly. "She's sort of like the ultimate keeper of time. It's her actual job. If there's a population out there with the ability to mess about with time, she knows about it."

"Mm," said Kaysa, brow furrowed. "Sometimes I wonder. . . ." She trailed off thoughtfully, looking almost suspicious.

"Wonder what, Kays?" Sirius wanted to know.

"Hm? Oh, never mind," she said, shaking her head. "Just thinking, that's all. Politics, sort of."

"I hate politics," said Chitral. "They're so stupid. And tedious. Why don't politicians just say what they mean?"

"Oh, but then we would know they were human," said Kaysa in mock horror. "We can't have that now, can we?"

"Right," said Sirius. "Like we won't figure it out when they inevitably start making mistakes."

They all laughed at this. Remus stretched back and looked up at the dark sky, searching for the moon, but the trees were still in the way. That was annoying. His transformations were unpleasant to say the least. He wanted to get this over with.

"Come on," said Kaysa, guessing his thought and rolling to her feet. "There's a clearing a little further in."

"Okay," said Remus. He and the others got up to follow her. As they neared the clearing she has spoken of, the trees began to thin out. Then, just as they were at the edge, Remus froze. It no longer mattered that there were still a few trees in the way; it was enough. The moonlight was strong enough here.

_Back off you guys,_ he warned his friends, feeling the cold light take him. Kaysa, Chitral, and Sirius all backed away, quickly swapping their human forms for animal ones. Remus shook, pain ripping through his body as the change ran its course. When it was finally over, he shook out his fur and looked around, enjoying the enhanced night vision. Sirius barked softly at him, wagging his tail. Remus raised his own tail in greeting, then looked around to the girls. Kaysa and Chitral had chosen to be wolves tonight. Remus had always thought they looked a bit odd as wolves, with their green eyes and russet colored coats, but then it was even stranger to try and picture them with grey hair.

Chitral bounded forward happily to greet him in the rough, playful fashion of normal wolves. Remus pushed her back, nipping her ear affectionately. For some reason, things were always easier between them this way. Probably because it was harder to think like a human as a wolf; it could be done, but it took a lot of effort and gave him a headache — or the closest thing a wolf can get to a headache. It was much easier to just let his instincts take over.

Kaysa let out a soft, short bark-howl, calling them to attention.

_Let's go,_ she sent, _I want to chase something._

_Sounds good to me, _Sirius replied, trotting over to join her. The pair of them started off. Remus and Chitral followed swiftly. They all spread out slightly, ranging about, ears pricked and noses searching for scent of anything interesting. Sirius was the first to find anything and he yipped quietly.

_Can we chase centaurs?_ he asked. _Or is that probably a bad idea?_

_Depends, _Kaysa replied. _Do you like your skull in one piece or many?_

_Oh. Bad idea, then._

_Ugh! _sent Remus, who'd just gotten a noseful of giant spider stench. _Not this way. _They changed directions, moving away from the spider scent.

_What's this? _asked Chitral. _I don't recognize it._ Remus trotted over to her and sniffed. He didn't recognize it either.

_I don't know, _he sent. _It smells a little like horse, but not really._

_Well, it doesn't smell dangerous, _commented Kaysa as she and Sirius joined them. _Not that you can really tell something like that from scent, but you know what I mean. It's not like the spider smell; this is interesting._

Sirius huffed agreement. _Let's check it out, shall we?_

_Let's,_ agreed Kaysa, and she set off, nose to the ground and tail set high and happy. Remus huffed indignation. She was always just deciding things, but even as a wolf — or perhaps especially as a wolf — he would never challenge her. They were all too close to need an established pecking order, but if they'd had one, he was pretty sure Kaysa would've been on top. Dismissing this train of uncomfortable though, he bounded after her with Chitral and Sirius, chasing the odd scent through the forest and into the night.


	20. Partners or maybe Moonlight part 2?

disclaimer: HP and it's characters are not mine, just Kaysa, Chitral, Chasta, and Shasta

A/N: okay, so when i originally wrote this it was going to be part of the last chapter, but i got stuck for a while so i chopped it in half so i could at least post what i had that worked. so you can think of this either as a separate chapter or as a continuation of Moonlight, whichever suites your fancy ^_^

and, for anyone who wonders, yes, i am a dancer. and if you haven't ever been to a proper dance party -- one where people are actually dancing, not just grinding -- then you are seriously missing out on life and need to remedy this as fast as possible. i suggest contra dancing or an Irish Ceili. really, try it! you'll feel like a total idiot and wind up laughing with people you've never met before in your life and it will be the most fun you've had in..... well, i don't know.... since whenever the last time you got totally high without drugs was, i guess. you know; like high on life?

............. okay, so maybe that's just me................

anyway, enjoy ^_^

* * *

**Partners (or Moonlight con't)**

Remus awoke the next morning in a little glade they had found the night before. Kaysa, Chitral, and Sirius were all still wearing their other shapes, but Remus was human once more. He didn't remember changing back and supposed they must have gone to sleep before that. Sitting up and stretching, he tried to remember what had happened — it had always been a bit of a challenge to remember what he did as a wolf; the thought processes were so different. He frowned, concentrating. They never had found out what that smell was; they'd lost it when it crossed a wet marshy patch. That had been frustrating; they'd wanted to know what it was. But then they'd found a small heard of deer. They never hunted deer out of respect for James, who'd been a stag, but that didn't mean they couldn't chase them for fun. Of course, they'd ended up chasing each other, yipping and snapping and eventually just howling for the sheer pleasure of hearing their voices intertwined. Remus shook his head at his own antics.

Next to him, Sirius stood and stretched, reaching his forepaws out in front of him. Looking around, he spotted the girls, still curled up sleeping. He cast a glance at Remus and panted laughter, then crept up to Kaysa and stuck his cold, wet nose in her ear. Kaysa woke with a start and snapped at him. Sirius seemed to have expected this because he quickly dodged her jaws and backed away to where she couldn't reach him. Kaysa sat up and shook her head, snorting reprovingly at Sirius, who barked and hopped back and forth, forelegs splayed and his rear up in the air; a puppyish invitation to play. Kaysa yipped softly and leaped at him, growling playfully. Still curled up, Chitral flicked an ear at them, tacit comment on their antics at such an early hour. Remus smiled and reached out to rub her ears. Chitral yawned and mouthed his arm affectionately, then stood, stretched and shook herself.

_Time to go, I think, _she sent. Kaysa and Sirius stopped roughhousing and came over.

_I suppose you're right, _Kaysa replied. The she looked at Sirius. _Are we going home or are we back on the run?_

_ Home, of course, _Sirius thought at her. _ We still have to get Buckbeak, remember? And there's something I want to do before we go, anyway._

_ How long? _Kaysa wanted to know.

_Just one more night._

_ Alright, _Kaysa sighed and Shifted from wolf to winged horse. _Get on, let's go._

Chitral followed suit and Sirius reclaimed his human form. Then he and Remus clambered on and they took off into the lightening sky, headed for home. When they arrived back at the house, Sirius went up to the attic to feed Buckbeak and spend some time with the poor hippogriph, who had not appreciated being left alone for so long. Kaysa and Chitral started cooking breakfast, and Remus set the table.

Breakfast was an unusually quiet affair since everyone was tired from the night out. Remus kept yawning and Sirius complained that his shoulders were sore.

"Well I don't know what you expected," said Kaysa finally. "I told you not to chase the does with fawns, but did you listen?"

Remus and Chitral sniggered. Sirius decided to shut up before he dug himself in any deeper. The rest of the day went by lazily, filled with naps, reading, and sporadic housework. Then Kaysa decided that, as it was their last night all together, a real dinner was in order and she and Chitral went shopping for the food they would need. Sirius had vanished somewhere, which left Remus alone in the yard where he was sprawled out in the sunlight reading a book he'd borrowed off of Kaysa. It was called _Whisker of Evil_ by someone named Rita Mae Brown, apparently helped by her cat, Sneaky Pie Brown. Remus wasn't entirely sure he believed this, but it certainly would explain why the main character's two cats and one dog seemed to do so much talking. The book itself was a murder mystery, and well written, but unfortunately had been written by someone from the US so there were a lot of cultural references Remus didn't really understand.

He was still trying to work out what exactly the difference between the north and the south was when Kaysa and Chitral returned and commandeered him for grocery duty. Then once the food had all been put away Kaysa banned Sirius and Chitral from the kitchen until dinner was ready, Sirius because he was being too silly, and Chitral because she was something of a disaster in the cooking department. So Remus helped Kaysa make dinner — chicken cooked in maple syrup with carrots and almonds, rice pilaf, a good loaf of French bread, and what Kaysa called a 'proper salad,' one containing not just greens, but also a fruit, a nut, and a soft cheese — then instructed Sirius and Chitral to set the table while he and Kaysa brought out the food. Kaysa also brought out a good bottle of red wine and set it beside the water pitcher.

"This smells delicious, you two," said Chitral as she sat down. "Thanks."

"Mm," said Sirius, eyeing the chicken. "Er, Remus —"

"Don't worry," said Remus. "I cooked it, not Kaysa."

Sirius grinned, relieved. Because of their leonine origins, both Kaysa and Chitral tended to find very undercooked meat appetizing. He and Remus had both learned better than to let them be the ones to cook the meat, unless of course it was to be stewed. It was hard to mess up stew.

"Five hundred or a thousand?" Kaysa asked him, coming round with the bowl of rice and a serving spoon.

"What?" said Sirius.

"Some or a lot," she clarified.

"Oh," he said, understanding. "A thousand, please."

"You need to ask?" said Chitral sitting across from him. "He always eats a lot."

"So?" Sirius retorted. "You would, too, if you'd been stuck on prisoner's fare for thirteen years."

"True," said Chitral, holding out her plate to Kaysa. As she did so Remus started passing out the chicken. Soon they all had food on their plates and Kaysa and Remus joined Sirius and Chitral at the table.

"Right," said Kaysa. "Anyone feel like being really fancy and making a toast? No? Good. Let's eat!"

It wasn't really a usual English meal, Sirius reflected as he ate his way through two helpings of everything including the salad, but it sure was delicious. And the mood it set fit perfectly with what he had in mind. After dinner, Kaysa disappeared into the kitchen and then reappeared with vanilla ice cream and a peach and raspberry crumble. It was absolutely heavenly.

"You know, we should really find a way to cook like this sometimes, even if we are on the run," Sirius said to Kaysa as he helped her clear the table.

"I know," she said. "Good food really does make life so much better, doesn't it?"

"Yeah. Hey, Remus! Come help me with the dishes, would you?"

"Oh, sure," said Remus, hurrying over and pulling out his wand. With both of them to clean and the girls to put away, the dishes were quickly washed and dried and stacked neatly in the cupboards where they belonged.

"Excellent," said Kaysa, surveying their handiwork with satisfaction. "Well, what do people want to do for the rest of the evening?"

"I'm pretty tired actually," said Remus. "Could we maybe turn in early?"

"No!" said Sirius. They all turned to look at him, startled. "Sorry," he said. "I mean, yeah, we can, but just not yet."

"Why not?" asked Kaysa.

"Because there's something I want to show you all," he said. "But you have to shut your eyes. It's a surprise."

Kaysa blinked slowly. "All of us close our eyes?" she asked, checking. Sirius nodded. "How are you going to lead all of us at once?"

"You can make a kind of chain, can't you?" said Sirius rolling his eyes at this minor problem. He wasn't about to let it ruin things.

"Oh," said Chitral, understanding. "Like a line dance. Yeah, that'd work." She stepped up behind Kaysa and took hold of her waist. "Come on, Moony, grab hold," she said grinning and wiggling her hips. Remus rolled his eyes at her, but followed suite, though he placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Good, now close your eyes," said Sirius taking Kaysa's hands in his, "and come with me." He led the slowly and carefully through the house and into a room at the back. It was a sort of living room-dining room cross. They didn't often use it because it was meant for entertaining large amounts of people.

"Can we open our eyes yet?" Kaysa asked as they came to a stop.

"Wait a moment," said Sirius pulling out his wand for a quick bit of magic. "Okay, now you can look."

They opened their eyes. Remus and Chitral's eyes went wide and Kaysa gasped aloud, staring around in wonder. Sirius grinned. He'd spent a good part of the day preparing this. First he'd hauled out all the furniture, then he'd tied back the curtains and cleaned the windows. He'd used magic to help with that, and the floor, which had needed to be polished. Then he'd replaced the candles in the chandeliers and added a few more around the room for better lighting as well as aesthetic effect. And finally, he'd gone up into the attic and found the old record player and brought it down — though he'd had to dust it very vigorously first. It had been hard to do all by himself, but now, with the candles lit and the music playing softly, and seeing his friends' faces, it was all completely worth it.

"Oh, Sirius," Kaysa breathed, turning shining green eyes on him. "How — when — ?"

"I thought you might like it, BrightEyes," he told her, smiling and flushing slightly, pleased by her reaction. He'd done it especially for her. The girls loved to dance, Kaysa in particular. When they'd all been in school, Kaysa and Chitral had taught them all to dance and it had become something that they shared. So Sirius had turned the unused room into a dance floor.

Seeing she was lost for words, Sirius bowed to her and held out his arm. "Come on," he said. "Keep it simple though; I'm out of practice." Kaysa just smiled and took his arm. Sirius led her out onto the floor and puller her into a waltz.

Back by the door, Chitral looked at Remus.

"Well," she said. "Are you going to ask me to dance, or do I have to do that?"

Remus laughed softly and held out a hand for answer. Chitral smiled and they moved to join Kaysa and Sirius on the floor. They whirled about with the music, slow but somehow energetic. Remus and Chitral stuck to a simple waltz, but soon Kaysa and Sirius were doing a cross-step, which was still a waltz, but was open to a lot of variation. When the first song ended they switched off, Remus taking Kaysa and Sirius with Chitral.

It was odd, Sirius reflected as he and Chitral struggled for a moment to find the rhythm; they were all best friends, but somehow they'd wound up in pairs after a fashion. Glancing at Kaysa and Remus, he noticed they didn't seem to be having as much trouble with the switch, but he supposed really that made sense. Remus tended to get along with everyone and after Chitral had fallen in love with him he would often turn to Kaysa for advice on how to deal with it and it had kept them close. Sirius, on the other hand, had never felt quite as connected to Chitral as he had to Kaysa. He suspected that this had something to do with the fact that Kaysa was more of a spitfire, quick to anger and forgiveness, and always up for anything crazy, whereas Chitral was generally quieter and more reserved, though she could hold a serious grudge when she chose. Sirius knew this because some of the few more serious arguments that their group had had, had been between Chitral and himself. They'd always sorted things out in the end, but once or twice it had taken over a week. Dancing about the room with her now he supposed that the distance between them had hardly been helped by her thinking that he was a murdered and a traitor for the last thirteen years.

Chitral's thoughts seemed to be running along similar lines because she suddenly reached her mind out to his.

_Forgive me, my brother,_ she sent, and he could feel her hesitancy and shame. _I —_

_It is past, sister,_ he sent, cutting her off. She was about to start explaining and he knew any excuse would just make him mad and he didn't want that. Not when they were all finally back where they belonged. _There's nothing to be done now; we can only go forward._

Chitral smiled at him, relieved, and whirled out, then back in again. Sirius grinned, keeping in step with her more easily now. The music changed again and Sirius moved with Chitral towards Kaysa and Remus, preparing to switch partners again. But as he swung around to take Kaysa from Remus, she bypassed him and reached for Chitral instead. Chitral grinned and took Kaysa's hand and the pair of them went spinning off, leaving Sirius and Remus blinking after them, trying to figure out what had just happened. Then Sirius shrugged and turned to Remus. Putting on his most mockingly genteel face, he bowed deeply and proffered his arm.

"No," said Remus flatly. "I'm not being the girl."

"Well I can't do it," said Sirius as the girls danced by. "I don't know the girl's part."

"A problem easily remedied," said Kaysa with an evil grin. She and Chitral dropped hands and coming over. Sirius blinked, startled, as Kaysa grabbed his waist with one hand, took his hand in the other, and pulled him out onto the floor. He frowned, concentrating as he tried to follow her lead. It wasn't really all that different from what he was used to; it was just that it was backwards. For some reason that seemed to make it much more difficult.

Laughing, he sent, _I guess this is what they mean about 'dancing backwards in high-heels,' huh?_

_ Heels can be arranged, _Kaysa replied, cocking an eyebrow at him.

_Hey, I'm not complaining! _Sirius protested. _There's no need for that._

_ Oh good, _she sent, holding up her arm. _Now spin._

As he obeyed, Sirius caught a glimpse of Remus ducking to manage the same twirl under Chitral's arm. For the first time he really appreciated the fact that Kaysa was only an inch or so shorter that he was. It had annoyed him on occasion that she was taller than him when she wore heels, but now he saw that there were benefits too. He was taller than Remus and if he'd been dancing with Chitral he'd have had to bend in half. As he came back around to face Kaysa, she caught his free hand and led him around in a fancy little series of steps that somehow managed to get them back into their more usual positions. Sirius grinned.

_Trust me? _he asked.

Kaysa smiled. _Of course._

His grin widening, Sirius picked her up by her waist and whirled her around and around. Kaysa squealed with delight and grabbed hold of his shoulders to make it easier, laughing with him as they spun hard and fast.

"Me too! Me too!" Chitral cried, bouncing over to them as Sirius put Kaysa back down on the ground.

"Okay, okay!" said Sirius, laughing still more at her eagerness.

"Come on, Remus!" said Kaysa as Sirius picked up Chitral. "Spin with me!"

Remus laughed as she took his hands. He leaned back, pulling against her to keep balanced at they flew about, faster and faster. The walls became a pale blur and Remus looked up at the ceiling, forgetting how disorienting that tended to be.

"Whoa!" Kaysa yelped as they swung out of control, weaving quickly and drunkenly across the floor on a collision course with Sirius and Chitral. Remus opened his mouth to call out warning but too late. There was a crash and a bang and they all landed in a tangled heap on the floor. There was silence for a moment, then Sirius started to laugh. Then Kaysa, sprawled across Remus's legs and Chitral's lap, and Chitral herself, joined in, Chitral with a hand on Kaysa's head as she bent over her friend, doubled up with mirth. Remus struggled for a moment, trying to sit up, but the world was still spinning and tipping around him and he gave up, lying back on the cool floor and laughing too.

Finally, when they could all walk straight again, they turned off the music, blew out the candles, and headed upstairs for bed. Wordlessly, Kaysa and Chitral took their lioness forms and followed Sirius and Remus into their room. Remus didn't protest; it was their last night all together. He wanted to spend it together. Grabbing their blankets and pillows, he and Sirius stretched out on the floor with the girls between them. Physically exhausted, both from the dancing and from his earlier transformation, but incredibly happy, Remus fell asleep almost immediately, the sound of Kaysa and Chitral's rumbling purrs filling his ears.

Sirius smiled, looking at Remus's peaceful expression. He reached out and poked Kaysa gently, who opened her eyes and cocked her head questioningly at him.

_Look, _he sent, nodding his head in Remus's direction. Kaysa twisted her head around. Her purr deepened and her ears canted forwards and down, but Sirius didn't need these cues to know what she was thinking/feeling. He could feel the tenderness and the happiness in her mind.

_I think he'll be just fine, _he sent.

_Yes, I think he will, _she replied, turning back and stretching out her neck to lick Sirius's cheek quickly. _Now get some sleep. Tomorrow's another busy day._

Sirius rolled his eyes at her, scratched her ears, then lay back and closed his eyes. His last thought before sleep took him was how nice it would be if life could just stay like this forever.

* * *

A/N: okay, the nest chapter will probably be the last part of the summer. i want to get to book 4. but it might take a while cuz i have to deal with finals and final projects.... UGH! oh well, _my _summer vacation soon, and then i can work on this a little more reliably i hope. anyway, hope you're all enjoying.

um, also, i hate to beg for reviews, but i really would love to know what people are thinking, so please let me know!

^_^

~SilverKit


	21. Run

disclaimer: HP and it's characters are not mine, just Kaysa, Chitral, Chasta, and Shasta

A/N: hey all, so this is the last of the summer adventures. hope you like it.

oh, also, in this chap, the line breaks are standing in for the extra 'enter' i can't seem to get it to let me do... just think of them as sort of... semi-moment breaks... or something like that, anyway :/

* * *

_**Run**_

_She is running, leaping, chasing her prey through a sea of dried golden grass. Her claws grip the soft earth, propelling her forward ever faster. Jaws open wide she can smell her quarry close ahead, the scent ripe with terror. She gathers herself, powerful hindquarters bunching. She springs._

_Lands. Stops._

_The tall grasses are turned to mist, the dry ground to air. She is standing on the sky. Looking around she sees nothing but distant stars and swirling mist going on forever in every direction, even beneath her paws there is nothing. Where is she?_

_A faint scent tickles her nose, though there is no breeze to carry it. Her ears prick; she knows that scent. Looking over she sees them. But they're so far away. How can she smell them without the wind?_

_Wanting company in this strange place of nothing, she sets off towards them at a steady trot, marveling at how solid the nothingness feels beneath the pads of her paws. The mist swirls thick and heavy before her and she can smell her family on it. Have they then walked this way? Is that why she can smell them?_

_They must be moving. She's not getting any closer to them._

RROWWF!_ She calls out to them, breaking into a run. 'Wait for me!'_

_They seem to stop, turn. She can see them silhouetted against the faint blue-white light of the stars._

RROWWF! _She begins to run faster, calling them again. 'Look! I'm here!'_

_She is racing now. Why is she still not getting any closer?_

_They raise their arms, waving to her. Waving good-bye._

_NO!_

* * *

"Chitral? Chitral!"

Chitral slammed awake, leaping to her feet with a snarl, snapping at the hand poking her without thinking, terror coursing in her veins.

"Whoa, hey! Easy!" Kaysa yelped, leaping back out her of range. "Easy, it's just me."

Chitral stood staring at her friend, fumbling for understanding, to make sense of the words she was hearing.

"It's alright, Chi," said Kaysa soothingly. "You were dreaming, that's all."

Chitral blinked and cocked her head. Dreaming?

Kaysa nodded. "Yeah, I know, right?" she said, clearly understanding Chiral's confusion. "That must have been some nightmare, huh?"

Chitral flicked her ears back, her eyes narrowing in concentration as she tried to remember. She needed to hold on to it, she knew. It was important somehow.

"Chi?" Kaysa prompted.

Chitral sighed and shook herself vigorously. Then she sat down and began grooming a paw.

_It's gone,_ she sighed. _I can't remember it._

"Nothing at all?" asked Kaysa.

_Nope. Just that it was strange and frightening. _She drew her paw over her ear a few times, then looked up at her cousin who frowned at her, then shrugged.

"Oh well," she said, standing up and stretching. "Maybe it'll come back to you. Anyway, the boys are already up, so come join us for breakfast as soon as you're ready, okay?"

Chitral stretched luxuriously then shifted back to her human form. "Sure thing," she said. "Just let me throw on some clean clothes."

Already halfway out the door, Kaysa simply waved a hand in acknowledgement. Chitral rolled her eyes and stepped across the hall to her room and yanked open a dresser drawer. She frowned at the contents, shut the drawer and tried another one. This yielded slightly more promising options than the first attempt and Chitral grabbed a pair of jeans and a fitted t-shirt to wear before rifling quickly through the rest of the drawers. She sighed, pulled on the clothes and headed down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"Hey, who forgot to do the laundry?" she demanded, sliding into her seat and reaching for the scrambled eggs. "I'm almost out of pants."

"Whoops," said Sirius sheepishly. "That was me, wasn't it? Sorry, Chi."

Chitral rolled her eyes at him. "I might have known," she said smiling wryly. "It must have been ages since you've had to think about routine cleanliness."

Sirius shrugged helplessly in mute apology. Kaysa laughed. "Don't worry about, you guys," she said. "I'll do it. Sirius, you can trade me for dishes. You were always a disaster with clothes anyway."

"True," agreed Remus from across the room, his head half-buried in the fridge. "I don't want all my underwear colored pink again, if it's all the same to you." He emerged from the fridge holding a container of orange juice and some strawberries, grinning at his old schoolmate.

"Oh, shut up!" Sirius retorted. "I only did that once."

"Yeah, because after that we made sure you didn't get laundry duty any more," Kaysa reminded him, her eyes shining with amusement.

"What? No!" said Sirius disbelievingly. "No, really?"

"Really," said Kaysa, plopping down next to Chitral and beginning to serve herself. Remus and Chitral both nodded confirmation of this.

"Seriously?" said Sirius, frowning at them. "But I never even noticed."

""Yeah, well, there wasn't much time after that now was there?" said Kaysa. "I mean, James and Lily got married and then there was all the stuff with the Order and all and, well, laundry sort of had to take a back seat as far as priorities went, didn't it?"

Sirius laughed. "I think most things had to take a back seat when compared to the world's most evil wizard and his plans for death, destruction, and world domination, Kays," he said.

"My point exactly," said Kaysa. "Pass the juice, would you, Remus? Anyway, it makes sense you wouldn't have noticed not having to do laundry. Hell, we hardly remembered to eat once things really got going."

"Mn," Sirius grunted. "Hey, speaking of crazy things, are either of you girls going to the Quidditch World Cup? Harry mentioned something about it in his last letter."

Kaysa stared at him. Chitral snorted. "Oh yes," she said sarcastically. "A hundred thousand wizards all packed together in one place —"

"And you just know there will be thousands of drunken after-parties later," Kaysa interjected.

"And screaming. Don't forget the screaming," said Chitral.

"And the smells," added Kaysa on a groan. Chitral grimaced; for a people as nose-oriented as hers and Kaysa's tended to be, huge gatherings like that were close to torture. Even just going to Diagon Alley could be sensory overload if you weren't careful.

"Not really your thing?" said Remus, smiling faintly.

"Uh, no," said Chitral. "Not really, no. Chasta and Shasta might go, though."

"I doubt it," said Kaysa. "You know they like working tech for Vira. I spoke to Takamburry some while we were there. It sounds like things are getting busy."

Chitral rolled her eyes. Vira, their human shifter friend, ran a sort of alternative investigative service thing. They helped worlds all over the cosmos deal with shifter criminals and the like.

"When are they ever not busy?" she asked.

"Point," said Kaysa. "But you know what I mean."

Chitral pursed her lips. Yes, she did know what Kaysa meant. 'Busy' meant either exciting or dangerous or, more likely, both.

"Oh don't look like that," Kaysa chided her. "The twins can handle themselves okay. And you know Vee would never let anything happen to them."

"I know, I know," said Chitral, putting her hands up in surrender. "I just worry, that's all. Especially now Mik's running with them."

"He'll be fine," said Kaysa. "Stop worrying and finish your breakfast already. The rest of us are finished."

Startled, Chitral looked around. Kaysa was right; Sirius and Remus had cleaned their plates and were now listening to her and Kaysa's conversation with bemused expressions.

"Oh, sorry," she said. "And you and Sirius were probably going to leave today, weren't you? Look, you guys go ahead and start packing or whatever, don't mind me. I'll take care of the kitchen."

"You sure?" asked Sirius. "I mean, I thought I was supposed to clean up. I should, since I forgot the wash."

"No, don't worry about it," Chitral told him. She wanted time to think anyway. "It's fine. Really."

"Alright, if you're sure," said Kaysa, shrugging. "Come on, Sirius, let's see if we can't find you a couple of spare changes of clothes to take this time."

"What?" said Sirius, feigning shock as he stood to follow her towards the stairs. "You mean I can't just wear the same things all the time?"

"Not anymore, laddy-buck," Kaysa told him, grinning. "I've gotten rather used to seeing you clean. I'd like to try and keep it that way."

They both laughed as they walked off side-by-side. Chitral, watching them, frowned suddenly. Something about the outline of them made her feel odd, as if it were familiar, significant in some way. She shook herself. She was being silly; of course they looked familiar together, they'd been something of a pair since their school years. Still, as Chitral began clearing dishes and putting away the food from breakfast, she couldn't help feeling uneasy, her thoughts continuing to go back and forth between that strange feeling and her annoyingly elusive dream, wondering if perhaps the two were somehow related.

"Is everything okay?" asked a voice. Chitral looked around to find Remus standing there, watching her with a look of concern in his blue-grey eyes. She smiled at him.

"Of course," she said. "Why shouldn't it be?"

Remus's eyes narrowed and Chitral knew instantly that she'd said the wrong thing to put him off track. Despite all the awkwardness that had come between them since he had realized she felt more for him than just friendship, he was still her close friend and brother. He knew when something was up.

"Maybe because you've got that look on," he suggested, his mild tone making an interesting contrast with the sharpness in his eyes. "The one you always wear when something's bugging you."

Chitral sighed and turned back to loading the dishwasher. "It's nothing, really," she said. "Just an odd dream, that's all."

"An odd dream about what?" Remus asked, moving to fill the tub in the sink for the dishes that would still have to be done by hand.

"I don't know," Chitral admitted. "I can't remember."

"And you think you should remember?"

"Yes. No. Oh, I'm not sure. I mean, I know dreams are often hard to hold on to and rarely make sense, but this feels different."

"How so," Remus asked. His voice was carefully neutral, but his eyes, when he looked at her, were intent. Chitral wondered if he thought she was crazy. Maybe she shouldn't have told him. But she had to tell someone and he had asked.

"I'm not sure," she said again. "Like I said, I can't actually remember any of it, except that it was strange and frightening. I keep trying to remember and I can't! I know it shouldn't bother me so much, but it feels important, somehow. Like it means something."

She stopped, hearing herself. Maybe she was crazy. Remus picked up a pan and scrubbed it pensively.

"Maybe," he said slowly, "maybe it wasn't just a dream. Maybe it was a vision."

Chitral stared at him. It was what she herself had wondered all along, but she'd told herself it was ridiculous. Why should she have visions? But now, hearing him say it, knowing he'd thought it too, suddenly it seemed much more plausible. It was both relieving and terrifying. Reliving, because at least she wasn't nuts to think it possible. Terrifying because then what if they were right and it had been a vision?

"Do you really —" she stopped, swallowed, then continued. "Do you really think it could have been?"

Remus dipped the brush he was using back into the soapy water then continued his slow, thoughtful scrubbing of the pan.

"I don't know," he answered at last. "I've never known you or Kaysa to have visions before. On the other hand, I've never seen you this worked up about a dream before. And I trust your instincts. If you think what you saw is important, then I think it probably is somehow."

Chitral sighed. She felt better for having heard him say that even if it didn't really help in any way.

"Thanks," she told him feelingly. "I think I needed to hear that."

"Don't mention it," said Remus, shrugging. "Anyway, if it worries you that much, why not talk to Kaysa? I'm sure she's knows more about this kind of thing than I do."

Chitral shook her head. "Kaysa's no Seer," she said.

"But isn't there Seer blood in her family?" Remus asked, frowning.

Chitral blinked. Yes, actually, Kaysa's father had some talent in it, but how on earth had Remus known about that?

"Remember when your folks were here?" he said, obviously seeing her confusion. "Kaysa asked her dad what he'd _seen._"

"Oh," Chitral said, trying to remember. "Yes, I suppose she did. Well, yes, Brei'ik does _see_ things sometimes, but not Kaysa. She's a doer, not a seer."

"Uhh… Okay, you lost me," said Remus.

"Sorry," Chitral muttered, trying to think of a way to explain. "I guess…. It doesn't really work for us the same way it does here. I mean, sure things _can_ still run in the family, but it's more about receptiveness. Personality type, that sort of thing. Kaysa is strong. Strong-willed, strong-minded, like our _maerrtik_ — they don't sit around and wait for things to happen. They make things happen."

"Oh," said Remus, absorbing this. Then he asked, "What's a _mairrtik_?"

Chitral grimaced slightly to herself; she probably shouldn't have mentioned that.

"It means…. Sort of like, the leader. The female head of the Family."

Vira again. Chitral hoped Remus didn't push for any more information than that. She and Kaysa, like most of their Family, preferred to let Vira be the one to explain about Vira, partly because it was so complicated, and partly because then at least no one was ever surprised that the young human girl had earned her right to be _Mairrtik._

"Ah," said Remus. "And this _Mairrtik_ is like Kaysa?"

"Sort of," said Chitral. "Actually, I think it's a bit more that Kaysa is like her, at least in some ways. Kaysa tends to be more impulsive."

Remus chuckled. Chitral smiled and took the pan, now clean, from him to dry. Looking sideways at him, she stifled a sigh. It was so easy just now. She wished it could always be like that. Why on earth had she had to fall in love with him? Or why couldn't he just love her back? Ah well, it was what it was. Wishing wouldn't change it. And, glancing at him again, Chitral admitted to herself that she didn't really mind. Not really, anyway. Oh she wished it could work, but she loved him, and not just as a potential mate, but as her friend too. More than anything she just wanted him to be happy and to always be her friend. It wasn't perfect, but it was enough. If only he could just understand that. She hated that her feelings made _him_ feel awkward.

They finished the dishes quickly — there weren't that many to be done by hand, just the frying pan from this morning and the wooden salad bowl from the night before — and then tidied up the rest of the kitchen. They were just about finished when Remus, in a sudden fit of playfulness, dipped his hand into the soapy dishwater and flicked great wet gobs of suds at Chitral's face. Shrieking in mock outrage, she splashed him back. He yelped and retaliated. The noise they made must have attracted Sirius and Kaysa, because they came racing into the kitchen, their eyes wide, first with fear, and then with astonishment. Then they grinned and waded into the water fight. Remus reached back into the sink and tossed a handful of soapy water at Sirius, catching him in the side of the head. Sirius cheated and used his wand to spray his old friend back. Chitral, meanwhile, had got Kaysa's hair and fresh shirt. Kaysa, always one for a direct approach, marched to the sink, turned on the tap, and grabbed the spray nozzle, wielding it like a weapon and catching everyone with the cold spray. Chitral's eyes met Remus's. They had the same thought. Darting in perfect unison to either side of a manically laughing Kaysa, they reached into the sink, grabbed the washtub and cheerfully overturned it on Kaysa's head, drenching her from head to toe. For one moment Kaysa simply stood there, dripping water, evidently stunned. Then she let out a fierce shrieking battle cry and lunged at Chitral. They were tussling on the now very wet floor, Sirius and Remus practically falling over laughing, when the bell for the door rang out loudly. Kaysa sat bolt upright. Chitral rolled out from underneath her and trained her senses on the party at the door, as she was sure her cousin was doing too.

_Feel like something official to you? _she asked silently.

_Yep, _replied Kaysa grimly. _Time to go, Sirius._

_Go, _Remus urged them. _We can keep them busy for a while, but hurry!_

Kaysa was already racing up the stairs but Sirius paused.

_What about Buckbeak? We can't leave him here!_

_Then he'll have to just Shift with us. Come on! _Kaysa snapped, fear making her irritable and impatient. _I'll grab the bags. You get the hippogryph._

_Right. _Sirius felt determined now and he hurried up after Kaysa. Chitral turned to stare at Remus.

_And just how, exactly, are we going to keep these guys busy, pray tell? _she demanded.

_No idea, _Remus replied, peering out the peep-hole in the door.

_Are they definitely from the Ministry?_

_Yes, definitely._

Chitral took a deep breath. _Okay, _she thought to him. _I have an idea. But you're not going to like it._

* * *

"Excuse us, miss, but we — um. Oh." The voice of the ministry official trailed away as he took in Chitral's mussed hair, sleepy eyes, and general state of undress. "Er —" He didn't seem to know where to go from there. Chitral supposed she'd better give him some help.

"Sorry it took so long to get the door," she told him, yawning for effect, "but, um, well…" She trailed off and pulled her dressing gown a little more snuggly about her shoulders.

"Quite alright, miss," the man bumbled, his face red. Chitral smiled inwardly; clearly these men hadn't been at all prepared for a half-naked woman to open the door. "Um, is the — the — the owner of the house about?"

"Oh, yes," she said, smiling. "He wont be more than a moment. I'm afraid you've caught us as a rather… inconvenient time." She stuck her head back to the inside of the door. "Remus? Remus! There's some men here for you!" she called.

"Coming, coming," Remus grumbled, stepping across the floor to join her at the door. He looked grumpy, but that was okay. "Honestly," he told her crossly as she wound an arm about his waist, "I can't even find my shirt."

He meant it to tell her how displeased he was to be playing at this little charade that involved him answering the door in nothing more that his underwear, but he'd phrased it to fit into the scenario they were presenting. Chitral was glad that that scenario allowed her room to giggle a bit at this; of course he couldn't find his shirt. Not wanting to have to argue with him, she'd simply vanished all his clothes.

"Well?" Remus demanded, turning irritably to the two ministry lackeys on the doorstep. "What do you want?"

"Er," said the taller of the two, the one who had spoken to Chitral earlier. He looked like he could use some help again, but this time she wasn't giving it. "Er, you are Remus J. Lupin?"

"Yes," was Remus's curt reply. He wasn't giving the man any help either.

"And, er, you were friends with the fugitive, Sirius Black?"

"Yes, at least, up until he turned traitor and murdered one of our other best friends," Remus growled.

"Yes, yes, of course," the man said quickly. "But, er, I mean, you are aware, I'm sure, that Black used to live here, are you not?"

"Of course I'm aware," snapped Remus. "We all did."

"At least until Lily and James married," Chital put in, calling the men's attentions to her. They stared, swallowed, then hurriedly looked away. Chitral smiled grimly to herself. She had deliberately let her dressing gown hang more loosely when she'd put her arm around Remus. It wasn't really indecent — it was no more than what a sexy, low-cut dress might show, but she had suspected that anything even remotely sexual would probably fluster these men just now. It seemed she had been right.

"Look," said the shorter one bruskly, speaking for the first time, "I can see that we've not come at a good time, and I'm sorry. But we've orders to search anywhere that Black might be hiding out and this house is on the list. So if we could just come in for a moment, we'll do out job and then we'll be out of your hair."

Remus hesitated. _Are they gone yet? _he asked Chitral.

Chitral concentrated. _Yes._

"Alright, alright," he grumbled to the short man. "But could you give us a minute to put some clothes on?"

"Yes, of course," said the taller man at once. His colleague shot him a look that made Chitral think that he would have preferred not to give them any time to do anything; change or perhaps try to sneak their friends out of the house or something. So, perhaps not all Ministry workers were idiots.

"Watch that shorter one," she warned Remus quietly as they pulled on their hastily discarded clothing — or Chitral did, anyway. Remus had to un-vanish his first. "He's sharper than he looks."

Remus nodded. He'd noticed.

Once they were properly dressed, they opened the door to let the men in. The tall one seemed to be doing most of the active searching, going upstairs and opening doors to inspect bedrooms, even finding the pull-down staircase to the attic and checking up there. (Chitral hoped that Kaysa had thought to remove all signs of Buckbeak.) The other one, the shorter, clever one, looked around the ground floor then, while he waited for his colleague, pretended to inspect the kitchen so as to put himself in the vicinity of Chitral and Remus so he could ask questions.

After asking Remus a few things about the house and his relation to Sirius, he turned to Chitral and said, "You must be Miss, er, Miss Chitral, yes?"

She nodded.

"And your cousin, a Miss Kaysa, I think? Yes? Do you happen to know where she is?"

Chitral frowned at him, feigning puzzlement. Damn, he really was sharper than he looked.

"I thought it was Black you were after," she said.

"It is," said the man. "But I've been given to understand that your cousin is… less than convinced, shall we say, of the man's guilt."

"Well, she certainly did have a soft spot for him when we were young," Chitral said, shrugging as if she wasn't sure what he was getting at.

"Yes, she did," said the man. "And it occurs to me that, therefore, if I could find her, I might also find Black. Or at least find out where he is from her."

"Oh," said Chitral, frowning as though she had to think about this. Then she said, "Well, I suppose you could be right, though I doubt it. But in any case, I don't know where she is. I've, er, had other things on my mind." Remus blushed at this. "And," Chitral continued, "even if you could find her, I don't think you know much about my cousin. If she is helping him, I can't see her telling you anything. She's very stubborn like that."

"Yes, well, we shall see," said the man coolly. Chitral shrugged, privately pleased to know that this man, however sharp he may be, was clearly not in a position to know the particulars about her and Kaysa. Though she supposed that if he had been, it would have saved her having to deal with these annoying questions of his.

Finally, search complete, they left. "If you do happen to hear of or from Black," the shorter man began, turning back on the doorstep as Remus and Chitral made to shut the door.

"Oh, we'll let you Ministry fellows know right away," said Chitral seriously. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll catch him."

The man eyed her calculatingly, then turned and went, following his taller companion to the car. As they drove off, Chitral closed the door and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well, that was rather close, wasn't it?" she said, turning to Remus with a smile. He glowered back at her.

"I still can't believe you made me do that," he told her.

"Well, it worked, didn't it?" Chitral retorted.

"Yes, I suppose it did," he admitted grudgingly. "You know," he added, looking at her, "I think that's the first time in years anyone from the Ministry hasn't treated me like dirt."

"Yes, well," said Chitral, rather dryly, "I suspect it's rather difficult for anyone to remember to be condescending and sneering when they believe they've interrupted someone in coitus."

Remus blushed again. "I suppose so," he mumbled and hurried off to find some housework to do. Chitral smiled fondly after him, then followed.

* * *

The next day, they received an owl from Kaysa and Sirius in Sirius's handwriting. It wasn't very long.

_We're safe. Sorry we had to leave without saying a proper good-bye, but it seems as though it's time for me to start keeping a low profile again. Hope those Ministry blokes didn't cause you any trouble. Kaysa says to tell you that she'll be sure to visit again and bring you news of how we fare. Hopefully the hunt for me will die down some and I'll be able to visit myself sometime. Try to keep an eye on Harry for me._

_Best,_

_ Sirius_

Chitral sighed and nodded; glad to know they were okay. "Well," she said, "looks like our little summer reunion is over."

Remus nodded. "Looks like," he agreed. "Will you be staying here? Or will you go and visit home like the twins?"

Chitral blinked at him, surprised.

"What are you talking about?" she asked. "I am home."

Remus smiled.

* * *

A/N: um, btw, so now that i've kind of done a very long, very much for my own entertainment kind of exercise in character building, i think i have actually discovered a plot for all this. i think it's going to turn out Harry/Draco. just, not right away. um, nothing with them will probably happen until the 6th book. up til then, things will probably continue in the same format as they have; inserts written directly into the original canon. once we reach the 6th book, though, things are going to have to change... i'm not quite sure how much yet. i' haven't gotten that far. anyway, hope you don't mind waiting through books 4 and 5. they need to be done b/c they are still part of the story. so please bear with me and let me know what you think

thanks for reading!

~SilverKit'sFire


	22. Goblet of Fire1

disclaimer: HP and it's characters are not mine, just Kaysa, Chitral, Chasta, and Shasta

A/N: okay, i know it took a while, but i've finally made a start on book four. here you go! enjoy!

* * *

The Goblet of Fire

Chapter 10: Mayhem at the Ministry

(p. 148)

[. . .]

"Arthur, you're supposed to be on holiday! This hasn't got anything to do with your office; surely they can handle this without you?"

"I've got to go, Molly," said Mr. Weasley. "I've made things worse. I'll just change into my robes and I'll be off. . . ."

He stopped as a loud banging filled the room.

"Is that the door?" asked Harry, frowning.

"I'll get it," said Bill, standing. But before he could take another step the front door burst open and admitted a pair of identical red-haired, green-eyed girls.

"Chasta! Shasta!" said Fred, staring at them.

"What are you two doing here?" said George.

"Good to see you again, too," said Chasta. "Now — Oh, hi, Mrs. Weasley. Sorry about the door. We'll fix it."

"We heard what happened at the Cup," Shasta explained. "So we figured we'd better get back here."

"Can't let you get into trouble without us," added Chasta, looking at the Weasley twins.

"How'd you find out so fast?" George wanted to know.

"Did Kaysa or Chitral tell you?" asked Fred.

That was a good question, Harry though, Kaysa, Chitral, Chasta, and Shasta all belonged to the same telepathic, shape-shifting race. But Chasta and Shasta had been off-world all summer, hanging with their Family. Harry didn't think even telepathy could get messages across that much space — and time — so quickly.

"What? Kays and Chi?" said Chasta. "You're kidding, right?"

"We haven't heard from them all summer," said Shasta, rolling her eyes. "Vira told us."

This statement seemed to mean more to the twins than it did to Harry. Vira was someone Kaysa and Chitral had mentioned once or twice, but never really explained. He had no idea why she should know what was going here. Fred and George, however, were nodding.

"So?" said Chasta, as she and Shasta dropped onto the floor with Fred and George. "Tell us!"

As the twins began to tell the girls what had happened, Mr. Weasley shook his head, muttered something about never knowing what to expect anymore, and went upstairs for his robes.

"Mrs. Weasley," said Harry suddenly, remembering something important, "Hedwig hasn't arrived with a letter for me, has she?"

"Hedwig, dear?" said Mrs. Weasley distractedly. "No . . . no, there hasn't been any post at all."

[. . .]

The Goblet of Fire

Chapter 10: Mayhem at the Ministry

(p. 161)

As Mr. Weasley vanished, Bill, Charlie, Chasta, and Shasta entered the kitchen.

"Did someone say Mad-Eye?" Bill asked. "What's he been up to now?"

"Who?" asked Shasta, looking around.

"Mad-Eye Moody, dear," said Mrs. Weasley. "He says someone tried to break into his house last night."

"Mad-Eye Moody?" said George thoughtfully, spreading marmalade on his toast. "Isn't he that nutter —"

"Your father thinks very highly of Mad-Eye Moody," said Mrs. Weasley sternly.

"Yeah, well, Dad collects plugs, doesn't he?" said Fred quietly as Mrs. Weasley left the room. "Birds of a feather . . ."

Chasta snorted. Shasta complained, "You still haven't told us who he is."

"Moody was a great wizard in his time," said Bill.

"He's an old friend of Dumbledore's, isn't he?" said Charlie.

"Dumbledore's not what you'd call _normal,_ though, is he?" said Fred.

"Who is?" muttered Chasta.

"I mean," Fred continued, "I know he's a genius and everything . . ."

"But," Shasta mused, "there's a fine line between genius and madness."

"Yeah, and neither one is anywhere close to _normal,"_ added Chasta.

"But who _is_ Mad-Eye?" Harry asked.

[. . .]

* * *

The Goblet of Fire

Chapter 12: The Triwizard Tournament

(p. 172)

A large, red, water-filled balloon had dropped from out of the ceiling onto Ron's head and exploded. Drenched and sputtering, Ron staggered sideways into Harry, just as a second water bomb dropped — narrowly missing Hermione, it burst at Harry's feet, sending a wave of cold water over his sneakers and into his socks. People all around them shrieked and started pushing one another to get out of the line of fire. Harry looked up and saw, floating twenty feet above them, Peeves the Poltergeist, a little man in a bell-covered hat and orange bow tie, his wide, malicious face contorted with concentration as he took aim again.

"Up yours!" shouted a girl with long garnet hair, her emerald green eyes blazing. She pointed her wand and the balloon the little man was holding exploded in his grip. Harry wasn't sure that this served any purpose other than to piss the poltergeist off, but that was Kaysa for you.

"PEEVES!" yelled an angry voice. "Peeves, come down here at ONCE!"

Professor McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress and head of Gryffindor House, had come dashing out of the Great Hall; she skidded on the wet floor and grabbed Hermione around the neck to stop herself from falling.

"Ouch — sorry, Miss. Granger —"

"That's all right, Professor," Hermione gasped, massaging her throat.

"Miss Kaysa, language, please," the professor added to Kaysa. Kaysa opened her mouth, then shut in and looked down, blushing slightly.

"Sorry, Professor," she mumbled, abashed. Beside her, her cousin, Chitral, shook her head. They were related to Chasta and Shasta, though Harry still wasn't quite sure how, but although Kaysa and Chitral were attending school with Harry, they were actually the same age as Harry's godfather. They had been schoolmates with Sirius and his father and had come back to keep an eye on Harry. Harry knew Kaysa had spent the summer with Sirius — she was in love with him, though he didn't know it — and he wondered suddenly if maybe having to leave him to return to school would account for her bad mood.

Professor McGonagall nodded to the girl, almost kindly, then turned back to Peeves.

"Peeves, get down here NOW!" she barked, straightening her pointed hat and glaring upward through her square-rimmed spectacles.

"Not doing nothing!" cackled Peeves, lobbing a water bomb at several fifth year girls, who screamed and dived into the Great Hall. "Already wet, aren't they? Little squirts! Wheeeeeeeeee!" And he aimed another bomb at a group of second years who had just arrived.

[. . .]

* * *

The Goblet of Fire

Chapter 13: Mad-Eye Moody

(p. 198)

[. . .]

"Er — is this the new stand on elf rights?" said Ron. "You're going to make yourself puke instead?"

"No," said Hermione, with as much dignity as she could muster with her mouth bulging with sprouts. "I just want to get to the library."

"_What?" _said Ron in disbelief. "Hermione — it's the first day back! We haven't even got homework yet!"

"So?" said Kaysa, coming with Chitral and sitting down by them. "This is Hermione we're talking about. She's probably gone into library withdrawal over the summer."

Harry and Ron laughed. Hermione roller her eyes at them and continued to shovel down her food as though she had not eaten for days. Then she leapt to her feet, said, "See you at dinner!" and departed at high speed.

When the bell rang to signal the start of afternoon lessons, Harry, Ron, Kaysa, and Chitral all set off for North Tower where, at the top of a tightly spiraling staircase, a silver stepladder led to a circular trapdoor in the ceiling, and the room where Professor Trelawney lived.

The familiar sweet perfume spreading from the fire met their nostrils as they emerged at the top of the stepladder, making Kaysa sneeze. As ever, the curtains were all closed; the circular room was bathed in a dim reddish light cast by the many lamps, which were all draped with scarves and shawls. Harry and Ron walked through the mass of occupied chintz chairs and poufs that cluttered the room, and sat down at the same small circular table. Kaysa and Chitral followed them, taking a table close to the wall for themselves.

"Good day," said the misty voice of Professor Trelawney right behind Harry, making him jump.

[. . .]

The Goblet of Fire

Chapter 13: Mad-Eye Moody

(p. 201)

[. . .]

"Born under — what, sorry?" said Harry.

"Saturn, dear, the planet Saturn!" said Professor Trelawney, sounding definitely irritated that he wasn't riveted by this news. "I was saying that Saturn was surely in a position of power in the heavens at the moment of your birth. . . . Your dark hair . . . your mean stature . . . tragic losses so young in life . . . I think I am right in saying, my dear, that you were born in midwinter?"

"No," said Harry, "I was born in July."

Ron hastily turned his laugh into a hacking cough.

Half an hour later, each of them had been given a complicated circular chart, and was attempting to fill in the position of the planets at their moment of birth. It was dull work, requiring much consultation of timetables and calculation of angles. A few seats away, Harry could hear Kaysa and Chitral, who hadn't even been born on Earth, arguing quietly about what the hell they were supposed to do.

"Well, we could just fill in the chart how it would have been if we _had_ been born here," Chitral said, her voice low.

"Yeah, we could," said Kaysa dryly. "But don't you think Trelawney might think something was up when she saw that the planets were in alignment for about thirty-five years ago?"

Chitral snorted.

"Professor Trelawney wouldn't know something was up if it danced naked in front of her," she said.

_Kaysa? _Harry sent suddenly, wanting to put his mind at rest.

_What?_

_I sent Sirius a letter before the World Cup, but I haven't heard back from him yet, _Harry told her. _Nothing's — I mean, he _is _alright, isn't he?_

_Of course, _Kaysa assured him. _And don't worry about owl post taking a while. It should. When I left, we were pretty damn far from here._

Harry nodded silent thanks at her, then turned back to the tedious classwork.

"I've got two Neptunes here," he said after a while, frowning down at his piece of parchment, "that can't be right, can it?"

"Aaaaah," said Ron, imitating Professor Trelawney's mystical whisper, "when two Neptunes appear in the sky, it is a sure sign that a midget in glasses is being born, Harry. . . ."

[. . .]

The Goblet of Fire

Chapter 13: Mad-Eye Moody

(p. 208)

[. . .]

"It's not schoolwork," she said. Within five minutes, she had cleared her plate and departed. No sooner had she gone than her seat was taken by Fred Weasley.

"Moody!" he said. "How cool is he?"

"Beyond cool," said George, sitting down opposite Fred.

"Supercool," said the twins' best friend, Lee Jordan, sliding into the seat beside George.

"You're being redundant," Chasta informed them as she and Shasta sat down too. "You really need a bigger vocabulary."

"He was pretty awesome, though," said Shasta, reaching for a baked potato.

"We had him this afternoon," Lee told Harry and Ron.

"What's it like?" said Harry eagerly.

Fred, George, Lee, Chasta, and Shasta exchanged looks full of meaning.

"Never had a lesson like it," said Fred.

"He _knows, _man," said Lee.

"Knows what?" said Ron, leaning forward.

"Knows what it's like to be out there _doing _it," said George impressively.

"Doing what?" said Harry as Chasta and Shasta exchanged a look and then had to stifle their sniggers.

"Fighting the Dark Arts," said Fred, ignoring the girls.

"He's seen it all," said George.

"'Mazing," said Lee.

"Reminded me a bit of Cori," said Shasta, getting hold of herself.

"Who's Cori?" asked Harry as Ron dived into his bag for his schedule.

"He trains assassins back home," said Chasta thoughtfully. "You're right," she said to her twin, "Mad-Eye is that sort of cool."

Ron groaned.

"We haven't got him till Thursday!" he said in a disappointed voice.

* * *

A/N: please bear with me here, i have to re-explain at the beginning of each book... sorry!

really hope i'm not the only one getting any enjoyment out of this here. if anyone has any questions of suggestions or general comments they'd like to share, please do!

~SilverKit'sFire


	23. Goblet of Fire2

disclaimer: i own nothing... T.T

A/N: hey all, sorry this took so freakishly long. i've been crazy busy with school, plus i had some major plot issues i had to work out, both with this story and with the other stories i'm currently working on... probably shouldn't have tried to do two and half story/projects of epic proportion all at once i suppose... anyway, for anyone returning to this story, yes, it's true, this is now technically a Harry/Draco fic. sorry if that bums anyone out, but it had to happen. however, as i said, this is kind of a really long fic so nothing will really happen with them til book 6 i think. i might have to split this up into two stories or something at some point, we'll see.

anyway, sorry for the wait. hopefully i'll be on a slightly less hectic schedule this coming semester. if anyone has any questions, comments, complaints, or recommendations please review or PM me. hope you enjoy

SilverKit

* * *

The Goblet of Fire

The Unforgivable Curses

(p. 209)

[…]

The next two days passed without great incident, unless you counted Neville melting his sixth cauldron in Potions. Professor Snape, who seemed to have attained new levels of vindictiveness over the summer, gave Neville detention, for which Kaysa cheerfully blew up her own potion on Snape and from which Neville returned in a state of near collapse, having been made to disembowel a barrel full of horned toads.

"You know why Snape's in such a foul mood, don't you?" said Ron to Harry as they watched Hermione teaching Neville a Scouring Charm to remove the frog guts from under his fingernails.

"Yeah," said Harry. "Moody."

It was common knowledge that Snape really wanted the Dark Arts job, and he had now failed to get it for the fourth year running. Snape had disliked all of their previous Dark Arts teachers, and shown it — but he seemed strangely wary of displaying overt animosity to Mad-Eye Moody. Indeed, whenever Harry saw the two of them together — at mealtimes, or when they passed in the corridors — he had the distinct impression that Snape was avoiding Moody's eye, whether magical or normal.

"I reckon Snape's a bit scared of him, you know," Harry said thoughtfully.

"Imagine if Moody turned Snape into a horned toad," said Ron, his eyes misting over, "and bounced him all around his dungeon. . . ."

"Oh, that would be good, wouldn't it?" said Kaysa laughing, back from her own detention. "Sadly, there's probably rules against that too."

"No doubt," said Chitral dryly. "Why are you back already? I thought he'd keep you longer."

Kaysa shrugged. "He had me brewing some stuff for him and preparing ingredients for classes and all, but I think he must have run out of things for me to do after that," she said. "Either that or he just got sick of me talking."

"Mnh, that second one probably," said Chitral, smiling faintly.

"Yeah," Kaysa agreed with a fake, dramatic sigh. "Honestly, the man has no sense of humor whatsoever. I really do feel bad for him sometimes… Ah well, perhaps this Mad-Eye character will be more fun."

The Gryffindor fourth years were looking forward to Moody's first lesson so much that they arrived early on Thursday lunchtime and queued up outside his classroom before the bell had even rung. The only person missing was Hermione, who turned up just in time for the lesson.

[…]

The Goblet of Fire

The Unforgivable Curses

(p. 222)

[…]

As Harry watched, George shook his head at Fred, scratched out something with his quill, and said, in a very quiet voice that nevertheless carried across the almost deserted room, "No — that sounds like we're accusing him. Got to be careful . . ."

"Yeah," Fred murmured, frowning. "You know, maybe we should ask the girls to help. They do this kind of thing, right?"

"Mnh, but they might want to involve Kaysa . . ."

Then George looked over and saw Harry watching him.

[…]

The Goblet of Fire

Beauxbatons and Durmstrang

(p. 229)

[…]

"That was a _lie_, Harry," said Hermione sharply over breakfast, when he told her and Ron what he had done. "You _didn't_ imagine your scar hurting and you know it."

"So what?" said Harry. "He's not going back to Azkaban because of me."

"Drop it," said Ron sharply to Hermione as she opened her mouth to argue some more, and for once, Hermione heeded him, and fell silent.

"Here now," came a voice, "What are you lot arguing about this early in the day?"

Harry turned to glower slightly at Kaysa as she slid in next to him.

"Don't make that face," said Chitral, dropping in on the opposite side of the table beside Hermione. "It'll get stuck. Anyway it's too early to use that many muscles. Just tell us what's up."

Wondering vaguely where Chitral had heard that particular human superstition, Harry explained to the pair about his letter to Sirius and how Sirius had then decided to come back to England for some reason.

"Oh," said Kaysa, somewhat dismissive, "But that seems more like good news, doesn't it?"

"Kaysa," said Chitral, sounding exasperated, "He's on the run, remember? That's why you spent your whole summer bouncing all over the damned globe."

"I'm not stupid," Kaysa snapped. "I know full well it's risky. But Sirius isn't an idiot — well, not a complete idiot, anyway. He'll be careful. And it would be good to see him again."

Chitral just rolled her eyes and muttered something disparaging about love and stupidity. Harry had to agree with her, not that he was particularly surprised by Kaysa's reaction. Even if she hadn't been in love with Sirius, she still probably wouldn't have been very worried. Harry thought that Kaysa tended to underestimate the intelligence and resourcefulness of the Ministry. Either that or she was just really, _really_ confident in her own ability to protect Sirius from the dementors, and while Harry had no doubt that she would happily face off with the entire Ministry of Magic before she let anything happen to him, he, Harry, would really prefer it didn't come to that, partly because he wasn't totally sure about who would win but also because even if Kaysa was capable of defeating the ministry and the dementors doing so would mean interfering which would mean that he'd probably never see either of them again.

Still, Kaysa was right about one thing; it would be good to see his godfather again if he could and Harry did his best not to worry too much over the next couple of weeks. True, he could not stop himself from looking anxiously around every morning when the post owls arrived, nor, late at night before he went to sleep, prevent himself from seeing horrible visions of Sirius, cornered by dementors down some dark Londan street, but betweentimes he tried to keep his mind off his godfather.

[…]

(p. 232)

"The way he talks," Harry muttered as he hobbled out of the Defense Against the Dark Arts class an hour later (Moody had insisted on putting Harry through his paces four times in a row, until Harry could throw off the curse entirely), "you'd think we were all going to be attacked any second."

Yeah, I know," said Ron, who was skipping on every alternate step. He had had much more difficulty with the curse than Harry, though Moody assured him it would wear off by lunchtime. "Talk about paranoid . . ." Ron glanced nervously over his shoulder to check that Moody was definitely out of earshot and went on. "No wonder they were glad to get shot of him at the Ministry. Did you hear him telling Seamus what he did to that witch who shouted 'Boo' behind him on April Fools' Day? And when are we supposed to read up on resisting the Imperius Curse with everything else we've got to do?"

"Oh, is that all we've got to do for him?" asked Kaysa as she and Chitral came up to walk beside them to their next class. "Honestly I expected him to give us a bit more to do." The two cousins had skipped Moody's class and Harry couldn't help wondering why. Even if Moody was a bit odd he was still a decent teacher and his lessons were always interesting at the very least.

"Yeah, that's the homework—" Harry began, but Ron cut him off.

"What do you mean 'is that all'? We've got loads of other stuff to do, how can you possibly complain?"

"I'm not complaining," Kaysa retorted. "I'm glad. I thought he'd give us more. Didn't I just say that?"

"Whatever," said Harry quickly before a quarrel could break out. "Look, where were you two? Why'd you miss class?"

Both girls stared at him. "Are you mad?" asked Chitral. "Do you seriously think something like Imperius works on us? We're telepaths, Harry, we have to be able to resist that sort of thing otherwise we'd be totally buggered as a species."

"Yes," Kaysa agreed, "and, what with the whole thing being, y'know, secret, and all, it seemed like a good time to skive off and get some work done. As Ron says, it's not like we've been getting it easy these days…"

She wasn't wrong, either; all the fourth years had noticed a definite increase in the amount of work they were required to do this term. Professor McGonagall explained why, when the class gave a particularly loud groan at the amount of Transfiguration homework she had assigned.

"You are now entering a most important phase of your magical education!" she told them, her eyes glinting dangerously behind her square spectacles. "Your Ordinary Wizarding Levels are drawing closer —"

"We don't take O.W.L.s til fifth year!" said Dean Thomas indignantly.

"Maybe not, Mr. Thomas, but believe me, you need all the preparation you can get! Miss Granger remains the only person in this class who has managed to turn a hedgehog into a satisfactory pincushion. I might remind you that _your_ pincushion, Thomas, still curls up in fright if anyone approaches it with a pin."

[…]

(p. 237)

Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat down beside Fred and George at the Gryffindor table. Once again, and most unusually, they were sitting apart from everyone else and conversing in low voices. Ron lead the way over to them.

"It's a bummer, all right," George was saying gloomily to Fred. "But if he won't talk to us in person, we'll have to send him the letter after all. Or we'll stuff it into his hand, he can't avoid us forever."

"Who's avoiding you?" sais Ron, sitting down next to them.

"Wish you would," said Fred, looking irritated at the interruption.

"What's a bummer?" Ron asked George.

"Having a nosy git like you for a bother," said George.

"Don't take it too personally," said Shasta dryly, as she and Chasta plopped down on the twins' other side. "They won't tell us what's going on either." Both girls scowled at Fred and George as she said this, but they just shrugged at them.

"What you don't know," said George.

"What Kaysa doesn't know," amended Fred.

"Won't hurt us," finished George.

Chasta sniffed and opened her mouth. Harry, sensing a recurring argument about to ensue, asked, "You two got any ideas on the Triwizard Tournament yet? Thought any more about trying to enter?"

"I asked McGonagall how the champions are chosen but she wasn't telling," said George bitterly. "She just told me to shut up and get on with transfiguring my raccoon."

"Wonder what the tasks are going to be," said Ron thoughtfully. "You know, I bet we could do them, Harry. We've done dangerous stuff before. . . ."

"Not in front of a panel of judges, you haven't," said Fred. "McGonagall says the champions are awarded points according to how well they've done the tasks."

"Besides," said a new voice, as Kaysa and Chitral joined them, "you aren't really thinking of trying it, are you, Harry? I mean, what d'you want to be even more famous for?"

"Never mind that," said Kaysa before Harry could answer, "the tasks are supposed to be very dangerous. Voldemort's already tried to do you in four times. I hardly think that doing his job for him is a good idea."

"Oh, come on," said Ron, rolling his eyes. "You don't think they'd actually let anyone die, do you?"

"People have died for a lot less," Kaysa muttered darkly.

"Who are the judges?" Harry asked Fred, hoping to get Kaysa off the subject of doom and gloom.

"Well, the Heads of the participating schools are always on the panel," said Hermione, and everyone looked around at her, rather surprised, "because all three of them were injured during the Tournament of 1792, when a cockatrice the champions were supposed to be catching went on the rampage."

[…]

Ron now rolled his eyes at the ceiling, which was flooding them all in autumn sunlight, and Fred became extremely interested in his bacon (both sets of twins had refused to buy a S.P.E.W. badge). George, however, leaned in toward Hermione.

"Listen, have you ever been down in the kitchens, Hermione?"

"No, of course not," said Hermione curtly, "I hardly think students are supposed to —"

"Well, we have," said George, indicating Fred, "loads of times, to nick food. And we've met them, and they're _happy. _They think they've got the best job in the world —"

"That's because they're uneducated and brainwashed!" Hermione began hotly.

"No they're not," Shasta interrupted. "I've been down there, too, Chasta and me, and I know what brainwashed looks like, and that's not it. And they're treated good here, too, so it's not Stockholm's either."

Harry opened his mouth to ask what 'Stockholm's' was, but a sudden whooshing noise overhead stopped him — probably for the best, really — announcing the arrival of the post owls. Harry looked up at once, and saw Hedwig soaring toward him. Hermione, who had probably been arguing with Shasta, shut her mouth abruptly; she and Ron watched Hedwig anxiously as she fluttered down onto Harry's shoulder, folded her wings, and held out her leg wearily.

[…]

"Thanks, Hedwig," he said, stroking her. She hooted sleepily, dipped her beak briefly into his goblet of orange juice, then took off again, clearly desperate for a good long sleep in the Owlery. Kaysa had also received a letter, Harry assumed also from Sirius, but as the owl who had delivered it made to take off, she grabbed him by his leg and said, "Wait right there, laddybuck. You're going back to the village anyway, you may as well deliver my reply." The owl, a small, dusty gray and brown colored thing, hooted bleakly and returned to the table in front of her.

"Poor little man," said Chitral sympathetically. "Here, have something." She offered him her plate and the owl began to gobble her eggs and sausage while Kaysa scribbled a quick reply.

"Honestly, Kaysa, why not just deliver it yourself," said Chitral, a bit reproachfully, as the owl flew off tiredly, carrying Kaysa's note. "You'll end up there anyway. I know you're dying to see him."

"Well, yes," said Kaysa, "but not today. There's not time, not with everything that's happening."

Harry couldn't blame her. There was a pleasant feeling of anticipation in the air that day. Nobody was very attentive in lessons, being much more interested in the arrival of that evening of the people form Beauxbatons and Durmstrang; even Potions was more bearable than usual, as it was half an hour shorter. When the bell rang early, Harry, Ron, and Hermione hurried up to Gryffindor Tower, deposited their bags and books as they had been instructed, pulled on their cloaks, and rushed back downstairs into the entrance hall.

[…]

* * *

A/N: also, as i have no beta i am doing my best here to make sure that my spelling and grammar is solid, but if anyone catches any particularly egregious mistakes please let me know


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